Permutation / Combination - SAT Math (2024)

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SAT Math Help » Arithmetic » Integers » Permutation / Combination

Example Question #1 : Permutation / Combination

Mark has 5 pants and 7 shirts in his closet. He wants to wear a different pant/shirt combination each day without buying new clothes for as long as he can. How many weeks can he do this for?

Possible Answers:

4

7

6

8

5

Correct answer:

5

Explanation:

The fundamental counting principle says that if you want to determine the number of ways that two independent events can happen, multiply the number of ways each event can happen together. In this case, there are 5 * 7, or 35 unique combinations of pants & shirts Mark can wear. If he wears one combination each day, he can last 35 days, or 5 weeks, without buying new clothes.

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Example Question #2 : Permutation / Combination

Twenty students enter a contest at school. The contest offers a first, second, and third prize. How many different combinations of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners can there be?

Possible Answers:

8000

400

4620

6840

20

Correct answer:

6840

Explanation:

This is a permutation problem, because we are looking for the number of groups of winners. Consider the three positions, and how many choices there are for each position: There are 20 choices for 1st place, 19 for 2nd place, and 18 for 3rd place.

20, 19, 18

Multiply to get 6840.

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Example Question #1 : Permutation / Combination

A baker has four different types of frosting, three different kinds of sprinkles, and 8 different cookie cutters. How many different cookie combinations can the baker create if each cookie has one type of frosting and one type of sprinkle?

Possible Answers:

48

15

96

24

Correct answer:

96

Explanation:

Since this a combination problem and we want to know how many different ways the cookies can be created we can solve this using the Fundamental counting principle. 4 x 3 x 8 = 96

Multiplying each of the possible choices together.

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Example Question #4 : Permutation / Combination

If a series of license plates is to be produced that all have the same pattern of three letters followed by three numbers, roughly how many alphanumeric combinations are possible?

Possible Answers:

18 thousand

18 million

11 million

180 million

1 thousand

Correct answer:

18 million

Explanation:

The total number of possible combinations of a series of items is the product of the total possibility for each of the items. Thus, for the letters, there are 26 possibilities for each of the 3 slots, and for the numbers, there are 10 possibilities for each of the 3 slots. The total number of combinations is then: 26 x 26 x 26 x 10 x 10 x 10 = 17,576,000 ≈ 18 million.

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Example Question #1 : Permutation / Combination

If there are 8 points in a plane, and no 3 of the points lie along the same line, how many unique lines can be drawn between pairs of these 8 points?

Possible Answers:

27

30

28

29

Correct answer:

28

Explanation:

The formula for the number of lines determined by n points, no three of which are “collinear” (on the same line), is n(n-1)/2. To find the number of lines determined by 8 points, we use 8 in the formula to find 8(8-1)/2=8(7)/2=56/2=28. (The formula is derived from two facts: the fact that each point forms a line with each other point, hence n(n-1), and the fact that this relationship is symmetric (i.e. if a forms a line with b, then b forms a line with a), hence dividing by 2.)

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Example Question #6 : Permutation / Combination

8 people locked in a room take turns holding hands with each person only once. How many hand holdings take place?

Possible Answers:

15

28

24

21

Correct answer:

28

Explanation:

The first person holds 7 hands. The second holds six by virtue of already having help the first person’s hand. This continues until through all 8 people. 7+6+5+4+3+2+1=28.

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Example Question #7 : Permutation / Combination

At an ice cream store, there are 5 flavors of ice cream: strawberry, vanilla, chocolate, mint, and banana. How many different 3-flavor ice cream cones can be made?

Possible Answers:

60

10

20

5

30

Correct answer:

10

Explanation:

There are 5x4x3 ways to arrange 5 flavors in 3 ways. However, in this case, the order of the flavors does not matter (e.g., a cone with strawberry, mint, and banana is the same as a cone with mint, banana, and strawberry). So we have to divide 5x4x3 by the number of ways we can arrange 3 different things which is 3x2x1. So (5x4x3)/(3x2x1) is 10.

One can also use the combination formula for this problem:nCr = n! / (n-r)! r!

Therefore:5C3 = 5! / 3! 2!

= 10

(Note: an example of a counting problem in which order would matter is a lock or passcode situation. The permutation 3-5-7 for a three number lock or passcode is a distinct outcome from 5-7-3, and thus both must be counted.)

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Example Question #1 : Permutation / Combination

At a deli you can choose from either Italian bread, whole wheat bread, or sourdough bread. You can choose turkey or roast beef as your meat and provolone or mozzarella as your cheese. If you have to choose a bread, a meat, and a cheese, how many possible sandwich combinations can you have?

Possible Answers:

8

7

10

14

12

Correct answer:

12

Explanation:

You have 3 possible types of bread, 2 possible types of meat, and 2 possible types of cheese. Multiplying them out you get 3*2*2, giving you 12 possible combinations.

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Example Question #9 : Permutation / Combination

Shannon decided to go to nearby café for lunch. She can have a sandwich made on either wheat or white bread. The café offers cheddar, Swiss, and American for cheese choices. For meat, Shannon can choose ham, turkey, bologna, roast beef, or salami. How many cheese and meat sandwich options does Shannon have to choose from?

Possible Answers:

30

20

35

10

25

Correct answer:

30

Explanation:

2 bread choices * 3 cheese choices * 5 meat choices = 30 sandwich choices

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Example Question #10 : Permutation / Combination

An ice cream parlor serves 36 ice cream flavors. You can order any flavor in a small, medium or large and can choose between a waffle cone and a cup. How many possible combinations could you possibly order?

Possible Answers:

144

108

72

172

216

Correct answer:

216

Explanation:

36 possible flavors * 3 possible sizes * 2 possible cones = 216 possible combinations.

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Permutation / Combination - SAT Math (2024)

FAQs

Is permutation combination easy? ›

Every topic in Mathematics is easy if you practice and understand its logic. Permutation and combination is a topic that requires logical thinking. Permutation and combination topic is easier as compared to other topics in mathematics such as calculus.

How many possible combinations of 6 answers? ›

If they are all different to one another, then the answer is 6!. 6! is called factorial 6 and equals 6x5x4x3x2x1=720. This is the logic behind the answer.

What grade level is permutations and combinations? ›

This is a seventh grade lesson that should follow a lesson on simple probability. This is a great introduction to compound probability and a fun, hands-on activity that allows students to explore the differences between permutations and combinations.

What is permutation and combination SAT math? ›

If the order doesn't matter then we have a combination, if the order do matter then we have a permutation. One could say that a permutation is an ordered combination. The number of permutations of n objects taken r at a time is determined by the following formula: P(n,r)=n!

Why are permutation and combination so hard? ›

In summary, permutation and combination can be difficult to understand at first, but with time and practice, it becomes easier. It is a useful concept in estimating probabilities and number of ways things can be combined or ordered. Good sources for learning this topic include Khan Academy and various online videos.

What is the difficulty level of permutation and combination? ›

Permutation-Combination as a topic is very popular in several entrance exams. The questions asked from Permutation-Combination in CAT and other MBA entrance exams are usually of moderate difficulty level. Let's understand Permutation-Combination by definition and examples.

How many combinations with 100 numbers? ›

100 * 99*98/6= 4900*33 or about 150,000 combinations.

How many combinations with 20 numbers? ›

Answer and Explanation:

We get that there are 1,048,575 possible combinations that are possible with 20 numbers.

How many combinations of 2 can you make with 6 people? ›

Such question has an answer 15 because first member is chosen from 6 people (so there are 6 possibilities), the second person is chosen from remaining five people so the number is 6⋅5=30 , but you have to divide the result by 2 because 2 people can be chosen in 2 ways but they still form the same team.

What is C in permutation and combination? ›

Derivation of Combinations Formula

C(n, r) = Total Number of Permutations /Number of ways to arrange r different objects. [Since by the fundamental theorem of counting, we know that number of ways to arrange r different objects in r ways = r!] C(n,r) = P (n, r)/ r! ⇒ C(n,r) = n!/(n−r)!

What type of math is permutations and combinations? ›

permutations and combinations, the various ways in which objects from a set may be selected, generally without replacement, to form subsets. This selection of subsets is called a permutation when the order of selection is a factor, a combination when order is not a factor.

What are the 4 types of permutations in math? ›

What Are the 4 Types of Permutations? The four types of permutations are permutations with repetition, permutations without repetition, permutations with multi-sets, and circular permutations.

When to use permutation vs. combination? ›

A permutation is used for the list of data (where the order of the data matters) and the combination is used for a group of data (where the order of data doesn't matter).

What do n and r mean in permutations? ›

The Permutation Formula that we use is expressed in the following way: P(n,r) = (n!) / (n-r)! Here, n represents the total number of objects that are present in a set. And r represents the number of selected objects arranged in a certain order. The factorial sign '!

What is the easiest way to understand permutations and combinations? ›

Permutations are for lists (order matters) and combinations are for groups (order doesn't matter). You know, a "combination lock" should really be called a "permutation lock". The order you put the numbers in matters. A true "combination lock" would accept both 10-17-23 and 23-17-10 as correct.

What is permutation and combination for beginners? ›

It defines the various ways to arrange a certain group of data. When we select the data or objects from a certain group, it is said to be permutations, whereas the order in which they are represented is called combination. Both concepts are very important in Mathematics.

What is the easiest way to differentiate permutation and combination? ›

What are permutation and combination? A permutation is a method of arranging all the members in order. The combination is selection of elements from a collection.

What is permutation in math easy? ›

A permutation is a mathematical technique that determines the number of possible arrangements in a set when the order of the arrangements matters. Common mathematical problems involve choosing only several items from a set of items in a certain order.

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