Mathematics

Permutations & Combinations

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Table of Content

1. The factorial.
2. Exponent of prime p in n !
3. Fundamental principles of counting.
4. Definition of permutation.
5. Number of permutations without repetition.
6. Number of permutations with repetition.
7. Conditional permutations.
8. Circular permutations.
9. Definition.
10. Number of combinations without repetition.
11. Number of combinations with repetition and all possible
selections.
12. Conditional combinations.
13. Division into groups.
14. Derangement.
15. Some important results for geometrical problems.
16. Multinomial theorem.
17. Number of divisors.

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 Permutations

1. The Factorial.

Factorial notation: Let n be a positive integer. Then, the continued product of first n natural numbers is
called factorial n, to be denoted by n ! or n . Also, we define 0 ! = 1.
When n is negative or a fraction, n ! is not defined.
Thus, n ! = n (n – 1) (n – 2) ......3.2.1.

Deduction: n ! = n(n – 1) (n – 2) (n – 3) ......3.2.1

= n[(n  1)(n  2)(n  3)......3.2.1] = n [(n  1) !]
Thus, 5!  5  (4!), 3!  3  (2!) and 2!  2  (1 !)
Also, 1!  1  (0!)  0!  1 .

2. Exponent of Prime p in n !

Let p be a prime number and n be a positive integer. Then the last integer amongst 1, 2, 3, .......(n – 1), n
n  n  n
which is divisible by p is   p , where  p  denote the greatest integer less than or equal to p .
p  
 10  12  15 
For example:    3 ,    2,    5 etc.
3 5 3
Let E p (n) denotes the exponent of the prime p in the positive integer n. Then,
 n   n   n 
E p (n !)  E p (1.2.3.......... (n  1) n) = Ep  p.2 p.3 p.......   p  =    E p  1 .2 .3 ......   
 p  p   p 
[ Remaining integers between 1 and n are not divisible by p]
n 
Now the last integer amongst 1, 2, 3,.....   Which is divisible by p is
p
n / p   n   n   n   n 
 p    2    p   E p  p, 2 p, 3 p.... 2  p  Because the remaining natural numbers from 1 to  p 
  p     p    
n   n    n 
are not divisible by p =     2   E p  1 .2 .3 ......  2  
p p   
  p 

2
 n   n   n   n 
Similarly we get E p (n !)      2    3   ..... S 
p p  p  p 
where S is the largest natural number. Such that p S  n  p S 1 .

3. Fundamental Principles of Counting.

(1) Addition principle: Suppose that A and B are two disjoint events (mutually exclusive); that is, they
never occur together. Further suppose that A occurs in m ways and B in n ways. Then A or B can occur in
m + n ways. This rule can also be applied to more than two mutually exclusive events.

(2) Multiplication principle: Suppose that an event X can be decomposed into two stages A and B. Let
stage A occur in m ways and suppose that these stages are unrelated, in the sense that stage B occurs in
n ways regardless of the outcome of stage A. Then event X occur in mn ways. This rule is applicable even
if event X can be decomposed in more than two stages.

Note: The above principle can be extended for any finite number of operations and may be stated as under :

If one operation can be performed independently in m different ways and if second operation can be
performed independently in n different ways and a third operation can be performed independently in p
different ways and so on, then the total number of ways in which all the operations can be performed in
the stated order is (m × n × p × .....)

4. Definition of Permutation.

The ways of arranging or selecting a smaller or an equal number of persons or objects at a time from a
given group of persons or objects with due regard being paid to the order of arrangement or selection
are called the (different) permutations.
For example : Three different things a, b and c are given, then different arrangements which can be made
by taking two things from three given things are ab, ac, bc, ba, ca, cb.
Therefore the number of permutations will be 6.

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5. Number of Permutations without Repetition.

(1) Arranging n objects, taken r at a time equivalent to filling r places from n things

r-places: 1 2 3 4 r
Number of choices: n (n–1)(n – 2 )(n – 3) n – (r–1)

The number of ways of arranging = The number of ways of filling r places.

n(n  1)(n  2).....(n  r  1)((n  r)!) n!

= n(n  1)(n  2).......(n  r  1) =   n Pr
(n  r)! (n  r)!

(2) The number of arrangements of n different objects taken all at a time = n Pn  n!

n!
Note: n
P0   1; n Pr  n . n 1 Pr 1
n!
1
0 !  1;  0 or (r)!  (r  N )
(r)!

6. Number of Permutations with Repetition.

(1) The number of permutations (arrangements) of n different objects, taken r at a time, when each
object may occur once, twice, thrice,........upto r times in any arrangement = The number of ways of filling
r places where each place can be filled by any one of n objects.
r – places: 1 2 3 4 r
Number of choices: n
n n n n
The number of permutations = The number of ways of filling r places = (n)r

(2) The number of arrangements that can be formed using n objects out of which p are identical (and of
one kind) q are identical (and of another kind), r are identical (and of another kind) and the rest are
n!
distinct is .
p!q!r!

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7. Conditional Permutations.

(1) Number of permutations of n dissimilar things taken r at a time when p particular things always occur
n p
= C r  p r!

(2) Number of permutations of n dissimilar things taken r at a time when p particular things never occur
= n p
C r r!

(3) The total number of permutations of n different things taken not more than r at a time, when each
n(n r  1)
thing may be repeated any number of times, is .
n 1

(4) Number of permutations of n different things, taken all at a time, when m specified things always
come together is m ! (n  m  1) !

(5) Number of permutations of n different things, taken all at a time, when m specified things never
come together is n !m !  (n  m  1)!

(6) Let there be n objects, of which m objects are alike of one kind, and the remaining (n  m ) objects are
alike of another kind. Then, the total number of mutually distinguishable permutations that can be
n!
formed from these objects is .
(m !)  (n  m ) !

Note: The above theorem can be extended further i.e., if there are n objects, of which p 1 are alike of one kind; p 2
are alike of another kind; p 3 are alike of 3rd kind;......: p r are alike of rth kind such that p1  p 2  ......  p r  n ;
n!
then the number of permutations of these n objects is .
( p 1 !)  ( p 2 !)  ......  ( p r !)

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Important Tips

 Gap method: Suppose 5 males A, B, C, D, E are arranged in a row as × A × B × C × D × E ×. There

will be six gaps between these five. Four in between and two at either end. Now if three females P, Q, R
are to be arranged so that no two are together we shall use gap method i.e., arrange them in between
these 6 gaps. Hence the answer will be 6 P3 .
 Together: Suppose we have to arrange 5 persons in a row which can be done in 5 ! = 120 ways.
But if two particular persons are to be together always, then we tie these two particular persons with a
string. Thus we have 5 – 2 + 1 (1 corresponding to these two together) = 3 +1 = 4 units, which can be
arranged in 4! ways. Now we loosen the string and these two particular can be arranged in 2 ! ways. Thus
total arrangements = 24 × 2 = 48.
Never together = Total – Together = 120 – 48 = 72.
Ways. Hence the required number of ways = 6 × 3 = 18.

8. Circular Permutations.

So far we have been considering the arrangements of objects in a line. Such permutations are known as
linear permutations.
Instead of arranging the objects in a line, if we arrange them in the form of a circle, we call them, circular
permutations.
In circular permutations, what really matters is the position of an object relative to the others.
Thus, in circular permutations, we fix the position of the one of the objects and then arrange the other
objects in all possible ways.

There are two types of circular permutations:

(i) The circular permutations in which clockwise and the anticlockwise arrangements give rise to different
permutations, e.g. seating arrangements of persons round a table.

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(ii) The circular permutations in which clockwise and the anticlockwise arrangements give rise to same
permutations, e.g. arranging some beads to form a necklace.
Look at the circular permutations, given below:

A A

D B B D

C C

Suppose A, B, C, D are the four beads forming a necklace. They have been arranged in clockwise and
anticlockwise directions in the first and second arrangements respectively.
Now, if the necklace in the first arrangement be given a turn, from clockwise to anticlockwise, we obtain
the second arrangement. Thus, there is no difference between the above two arrangements.

(1) Difference between clockwise and anticlockwise arrangement : If anticlockwise and clockwise
order of arrangement are not distinct e.g., arrangement of beads in a necklace, arrangement of flowers
(n  1)!
in garland etc. then the number of circular permutations of n distinct items is
2
(2) Theorem on circular permutations
Theorem 1: The number of circular permutations of n different objects is (n  1) !
Theorem 2: The number of ways in which n persons can be seated round a table is (n  1)!
Theorem 3: The number of ways in which n different beads can be arranged to form a necklace, is
1
(n  1)! .
2

Note: When the positions are numbered, circular arrangement is treated as a linear arrangement.
In a linear arrangement, it does not make difference whether the positions are numbered or not.

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 Combinations

9. Definition.

Each of the different groups or selections which can be formed by taking some or all of a number of
objects, irrespective of their arrangements, is called a combination.

Suppose we want to select two out of three persons A, B and C.

We may choose AB or BC or AC.

Clearly, AB and BA represent the same selection or group but they give rise to different arrangements.

Clearly, in a group or selection, the order in which the objects are arranged is immaterial.

Notation: The number of all combinations of n things, taken r at a time is denoted by C (n, r) or
n
n
C r or   .
r

(1) Difference between a permutation and combination : (i) In a combination only selection is made
whereas in a permutation not only a selection is made but also an arrangement in a definite order is
considered.

(ii) In a combination, the ordering of the selected objects is immaterial whereas in a permutation, the
ordering is essential. For example A, B and B, A are same as combination but different as permutations.

(iii) Practically to find the permutation of n different items, taken r at a time, we first select r items from n
items and then arrange them. So usually the number of permutations exceeds the number of
combinations.

(iv) Each combination corresponds to many permutations. For example, the six permutations ABC, ACB,
BCA, BAC, CBA and CAB correspond to the same combination ABC.

Note: Generally we use the word ‘arrangements’ for permutations and word “selection” for combinations.

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10. Number of Combinations without Repetition.

The number of combinations (selections or groups) that can be formed from n different objects taken
n!
r(0  r  n) at a time is n C r 
r !(n  r)!

Let the total number of selections (or groups) = x. Each group contains r objects, which can be arranged in r !
Ways. Hence the number of arrangements of r objects = x  (r!) . But the number of arrangements = n Pr .
n
Pr n!
 x  (r!)  n Pr  x  x n Cr .
r! r !(n  r) !

Important Tips
 n
Cr is a natural number.  n C0 nCn  1, nC1  n
 n
Cr n Cn r  n
Cr  n Cr 1  n1 Cr
 n
C x  n C y  x  y or x  y  n  n . n1 Cr1  (n  r  1)n Cr1
 If n is even then the greatest value of n C r is n C n / 2 .  If n is odd then the greatest value
n n
of n Cr is or .
C n 1 Cn 1
2 2
n r 1
n
n n 1 Cr
 n
Cr  . C r 1  n

r C r 1 r

 n
C0  C1  C2  .....  Cn  2
n n n n
 C0 nC2 n C4  ...... nC1 nC3 nC5  .....  2n 1
n

2n 1
 C0  2n 1C1  2n 1C2  .....  2n 1Cn  2 2n  nCn n 1Cn n  2Cn n  3Cn  .... 2n 1Cn 2nCn 1

n! 1
Note: Number of combinations of n dissimilar things taken all at a time n Cn    1 , ( 0 !  1) .
n !(n  n) ! 0 !

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11. Number of Combinations with Repetition and All Possible Selections.

(1) The number of combinations of n distinct objects taken r at a time when any object may be repeated
any number of times.
= coefficient of x r in (1  x  x 2  .......  x r )n = coefficient of x r in (1  x )n  n r 1 C r

(2) The total number of ways in which it is possible to form groups by taking some or all of n things at a
time is 2 n  1 .

(3) The total number of ways in which it is possible to make groups by taking some or all out of
n  (n1  n 2  ....) things, when n1 are alike of one kind, n 2 are alike of second kind, and so on is
{(n1  1)(n 2  1)......}  1 .

(4) The number of selections of r objects out of n identical objects is 1.

(5) Total number of selections of zero or more objects from n identical objects is n  1 .

(6) The number of selections taking at least one out of a1  a2  a3  ......  an + k objects, where a1 are
alike (of one kind), a 2 are alike (of second kind) and so on...... a n are alike (of nth kind) and k are distinct
= [(a1  1)(a 2  1)(a 3  1).......(an  1)] 2 k  1 .

12. Conditional Combinations.

(1) The number of ways in which r objects can be selected from n different objects if k particular objects
are
n k n k
(i) Always included = C r k (ii) Never included = Cr
(2) The number of combinations of n objects, of which p are identical, taken r at a time is
n p
= C r  n  p C r 1  n  p C r 2  .......  n  p C 0 if r  p and
n p
= C r  n  p C r 1  n  p C r 2  .......  n  p C r  p if r  p

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13. Division into Groups.

Case I: (1) The number of ways in which n different things can be arranged into r different groups is
n r 1 n 1
Pn or n ! C r 1 According as blank group are or are not admissible.

(2) The number of ways in which n different things can be distributed into r different group is
r n  r C1 (r  1)n  r C 2 (r  2)n  .........  (1)n1 n Cr 1 or Coefficient of x n is n ! (e x  1)r
Here blank groups are not allowed.

(3) Number of ways in which m × n different objects can be distributed equally among n persons (or
(mn)!n ! (mn)!
numbered groups) = (number of ways of dividing into groups) × (number of groups) ! = 
(m !)n n! (m!)n
.
Case II: (1) The number of ways in which (m  n) different things can be divided into two groups which
(m  n)!
contain m and n things respectively is, m n C m . n C n  ,m  n .
m !n!
Corollary: If m  n , then the groups are equal size. Division of these groups can be given by two types.

Type I: If order of group is not important: The number of ways in which 2n different things can be
(2n)!
divided equally into two groups is
2!(n!) 2
Type II: If order of group is important: The number of ways in which 2n different things can be divided
(2n)! 2n!
equally into two distinct groups is 2
 2! 
2!(n!) (n!)2

(2) The number of ways in which (m + n + p) different things can be divided into three groups which
(m  n  p)!
contain m, n and p things respectively is m n  p C m . n  p C n . p C p  ,m  n  p
m !n ! p !
Corollary: If m  n  p , then the groups are equal size. Division of these groups can be given by two
types.
Type I: If order of group is not important: The number of ways in which 3p different things can be
(3 p)!
divided equally into three groups is
3!( p!)3

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Type II: If order of group is important: The number of ways in which 3p different things can be
(3 p)! (3 p)!
divided equally into three distinct groups is 3
t 3!
3!( p!) ( p!)3

Note: If order of group is not important: The number of ways in which mn different things can be divided equally
mn!
into m groups is
(n!)m m !
If order of group is important: The number of ways in which mn different things can be divided equally into m
(mn)! (mn)!
distinct groups is m
 m!  .
(n!) m! (n!)m

14. Derangement.

Any change in the given order of the things is called a derangement.

If n things form an arrangement in a row, the number of ways in which they can be deranged so that no
 1 1 1 1
one of them occupies its original place is n ! 1     ......  (1)n .  .
 1! 2! 3! n !

15. Some Important Results for Geometrical Problems.

(1) Number of total different straight lines formed by joining the n points on a plane of which m (< n)
are collinear is n C 2  m C 2  1 .

(2) Number of total triangles formed by joining the n points on a plane of which m (< n) are collinear is
n
C 3 m C 3 .

(3) Number of diagonals in a polygon of n sides is n C 2  n .

(4) If m parallel lines in a plane are intersected by a family of other n parallel lines. Then total number of
mn(m  1)(n  1)
parallelograms so formed is m C 2 n C 2 i.e
4
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(5) Given n points on the circumference of a circle, then

(i) Number of straight lines = n C 2 (ii) Number of triangles = n C 3 (iii) Number of quadrilaterals = n C 4 .

(6) If n straight lines are drawn in the plane such that no two lines are parallel and no three lines are
concurrent. Then the number of part into which these lines divide the plane is = 1  n .

n
(7) Number of rectangles of any size in a square of n  n is r
r 1
3
and number of squares of any size is

r
r 1
2
.

np
(8) In a rectangle of n  p (n  p) number of rectangles of any size is (n  1)( p  1) and number of
4
n
squares of any size is  (n  1  r)(p  1  r) .
r 1

16. Multinomial Theorem.

Let x 1 , x 2 , ......., x m be integers. Then number of solutions to the equation x 1  x 2  ......  x m  n

.....(i)

Subject to the condition a1  x 1  b1 , a 2  x 2  b 2 ,......., am  x m  b m .....(ii)

is equal to the coefficient of x n in

(x a1  x a1 1  ......  x b1 )(x a2  x a2 1  .....  x b2 )......( x am  x am 1  .....  x bm ) ......(iii)

This is because the number of ways, in which sum of m integers in (i) equals n, is the same as the number
of times x n comes in (iii).

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(1) Use of solution of linear equation and coefficient of a power in expansions to find the number
of ways of distribution:

(i) the number of integral solutions of x 1  x 2  x 3  ......  x r  n where x 1  0, x 2  0, ...... x r  0 is the

same as the number of ways to distribute n identical things among r persons.
This is also equal to the coefficient of x n in the expansion of (x 0  x 1  x 2  x 3  ......) r
r
 1 
= coefficient of x n in   = coefficient of x in (1  x )
n r

1  x 
 r(r  1) 2 r(r  1)(r  2)......(r  n  1) n
= coefficient of x n in 1  rx  x  ......  x  .......
 2! n!
r(r  1)(r  2)....(r  n  1) (r  n  1)! n r 1
   C r 1
n! n!(r  1)!

(ii) The number of integral solutions of x 1  x 2  x 3  .....  x r  n where x 1  1, x 2  1,....... x r  1 is same

as the number of ways to distribute n identical things among r persons each getting at least 1. This also
equal to the coefficient of x n in the expansion of (x 1  x 2  x 3  ......) r
r
 x 
= coefficient of x in n
 = coefficient of x in x (1  x )
n r r

1  x 
 r (r  1) 2 r (r  1)(r  2).....(r  n  1) n 
= coefficient of x n in x r 1  rx  x  .....  x  ..... 
 2! n! 
 r(r  1) 2 r(r  1)(r  2).....(r  n  1) n 
= coefficient of x n  r in 1  rx  x  .....  x  ..... 
 2! n! 
r(r  1) (r  2)......(r  n  r  1) r(r  1) (r  2).....(n  1) (n  1) !
= = =  n 1 Cr 1 .
(n  r) ! (n  r)! (n  r)!(r  1)!

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17. Number of Divisors.

Let N  p11 . p 2 2 . p 3 3 ...... p k k , where p1 , p 2 , p 3 ,...... p k are different primes and  1 ,  2 ,  3 ,......,  k are
natural numbers then:

(1) The total number of divisors of N including 1 and N is = ( 1  1) ( 2  1) ( 3  1)....( k  1)

(2) The total number of divisors of N excluding 1 and N is = ( 1  1) ( 2  1) ( 3  1).....( k  1)  2
(3) The total number of divisors of N excluding 1 or N is = (1  1)( 2  1)( 3  1).....(k  1)  1
(4) The sum of these divisors is
 (p10  p12  p 32  ......  p11 )(p 20  p12  p 22  ...  p2 2 ).....( pk0  pk1  pk2  ....  pk k )

(5) The number of ways in which N can be resolved as a product of two factors is
1
 2 (1  1)( 2  1)....( k  1), If N is not a perfect square
1
 [(1  1)( 2  1).....( k  1)  1], If N is a perfect square
2

(6) The number of ways in which a composite number N can be resolved into two factors which are
relatively prime (or co-prime) to each other is equal to 2 n 1 where n is the number of different factors in
N.

Important Tips

 All the numbers whose last digit is an even number 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8 are divisible by 2.
 All the numbers sum of whose digits are divisible by 3, is divisible by 3 e.g. 534. Sum of the digits is
12, which are divisible by 3, and hence 534 is also divisible by 3.
 All those numbers whose last two-digit number is divisible by 4 are divisible by 4 e.g. 7312, 8936,
are such that 12, 36 are divisible by 4 and hence the given numbers are also divisible by 4.
 All those numbers, which have either 0 or 5 as the last digit, are divisible by 5.
 All those numbers, which are divisible by 2 and 3 simultaneously, are divisible by 6. e.g., 108, 756
etc.
 All those numbers whose last three-digit number is divisible by 8 are divisible by 8.
 All those numbers sum of whose digit is divisible by 9 are divisible by 9.
 All those numbers whose last two digits are divisible by 25 are divisible by 25 e.g., 73125, 2400 etc.

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