Q for the resident math nerds

[little_bopeep]

DS brought home a math problem in which he has 5 colors, 5 people and 5 doors and has to figure out how many combinations there can be of all those. OK, math nerdlet DH got the answer with no problem...but now it's bugging him that he can't come up with the term for this type of question. Can anyone help, please?

TIA!

[Grace]

Statistics?

[tbb113]

factorials? probablity?

[615bride]

permutations?

[Clover]

I think it's combinations.

[jjsooner73]

Yes, it is a combination.
A permutation is the same type of problem, but order is a distinguishing factor, whereas order doesn't matter in combinations.

[AndreaU]

Combinations are ordered or something you can reorder so that things look the same. (red and blue is considered the same combination as blue and red)

Permutations are a larger number of things where ANY change in order makes them different. (red and blue is different from blue and red)

[MKSquared]

Technically, you use the Fundamental Counting Principle to solve it:
If one event has m possible outcomes and a second independent event has n possible outcomes, then there are m x n total possible outcomes for the two events together.

[615bride]

Ha ha! That's why I teach FIRST GRADE math! :o

[AndreaU]

Originally posted by 615bride
Ha ha! That's why I teach FIRST GRADE math! :o
:D