Concept
What is a combination, and how is it different from a permutation?
Stephen Davies, Ph.D. Version 2.2.2 Through Discrete Mathematics A Cool Brisk Walk / Chapter 1
"All the stuff with permutations has emphasized order. Somebody gets first place in the golf tournament, and somebody else gets second, and you bet your bottom dollar that it matters which is which. What if it turns out we don’t care about the order, though? Maybe we don’t care who got what place, but just which golfers were in the top ten. Maybe we don’t care which film is showing in which time slot, but only which films are in tonight’s movie lineup. This counting scenario involves something called combinations rather than permutations. A combination of k objects out of a possible n is a choice of any set of k of them, without regard to order. For instance, suppose all three Davies kids want to play on the Wii, but only two can play at a time. Who will get to play first after school? One possibility is Lizzy and T.J., another is Lizzy and Marina, and the last one is T.J. and Marina. These are the three (and only three) combinations of 2 objects out of 3."
Related Ideas
- What is the formula for combinations, and why are they called binomial coefficients?Stephen Davies, Ph.D. Version 2.2.2 Through Discrete Mathematics A Cool Brisk Walk · Chapter 1
- What is a permutation, and how is the factorial used to count permutations?Stephen Davies, Ph.D. Version 2.2.2 Through Discrete Mathematics A Cool Brisk Walk · Chapter 1
- What are the three basic situations behind most counting problems?Stephen Davies, Ph.D. Version 2.2.2 Through Discrete Mathematics A Cool Brisk Walk · Chapter 1
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- How can permutations be systematically enumerated?Stephen Davies, Ph.D. Version 2.2.2 Through Discrete Mathematics A Cool Brisk Walk · Chapter 1
- How does the Fundamental Theorem of Counting determine the number of independent choices?Stephen Davies, Ph.D. Version 2.2.2 Through Discrete Mathematics A Cool Brisk Walk · Chapter 1
- How many ordered outcomes are possible for first, second, and third place?Stephen Davies, Ph.D. Version 2.2.2 Through Discrete Mathematics A Cool Brisk Walk · Chapter 1