Introduction of Permutation
is to count all of the
possible ways that a single set of objects can be arranged. For example,
consider the letters X, Y and Z. These letters can be arranged in number of
different ways (XYZ, XZY, YXZ, etc.) Each of these arrangements is a
permutation.
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A permutation is an
arrangement of all or part of a set of objects, with regard to the order of the
arrangement. This means that XZY is considered a different permutation than
ZYX.
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The number of
permutations of n objects taken r at a time is denoted by nPr.
Example 1:
How many different ways can you arrange the letters X, Y, and Z?
(Hint: In this
problem, order is important; i.e., XYZ is considered a different arrangement
than YZX.)
Solution: One way to solve this problem is to list all of the
possible permutations of X, Y, and Z. They are: XYZ, XZY, YXZ, YZX, ZXY, and
ZYX. Thus, there are 6 possible permutations.
Another approach is to use Rule 2.
Rule 2 tells us that the number of permutations is n! / (n - r)!. We have 3
distinct objects so n = 3. And we want to arrange them in groups of 3, so r =
3. Thus, the number of permutations is 3! / (3 - 3)! or 3! / 0!. This is equal
to (3)(2)(1)/1 = 6.
Example 2;
In horse racing, a trifecta is a type of bet. To win a trifecta bet, you need
to specify the horses that finish in the top three spots in the exact order in
which they finish. If eight horses enter the race, how many different ways can
they finish in the top three spots?
Solution: Rule 2 tells us that the number of permutations is n! / (n
- r)!. We have 8 horses in the race. so n = 8. And we want to arrange them in
groups of 3, so r = 3. Thus, the number of permutations is 8! / (8 - 3)! or 8!
/ 5!. This is equal to (8)(7)(6) = 336 distinct trifecta outcomes. With 336
possible permutations, the trifecta is a difficult bet to win.