Combinatorics, probability and statistics Questions

In summary, the teacher can configure a seating plan for a class of 30 students in at least 35 ways. The standard deviation of the number of handshakes exchanged is 3.
  • #1
Numbnut247
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Hey guys, I have a few questions:

1. There are 35 desks in a classroom. In how many ways can the teacher configure a seating plan for a class of 30 students?

I'm not sure if order matters (35P30 or 35C30).

2. Sixteen people attend a meeting. Each person greets everyone with a single handshake. Find the total number of handshakes that are exchanged.

Each person shakes 15 other people's hand but half of them are repeated so is it (15!)/2

3. A manufacturer determines that the volume of juice in a juice box is normally distributed with a minimum of 244mL and a maximum of 256mL. What is the best estimate of the standard deviation? Complete it without the use of a calculator.

I got 250mL as my mean by (244+256)/2. I'm thinking the minimum and maximum should be about 95 percent of the good so the standard deviation is 3?

Thanks
 
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  • #2
Numbnut247 said:
Hey guys, I have a few questions:

1. There are 35 desks in a classroom. In how many ways can the teacher configure a seating plan for a class of 30 students?

I'm not sure if order matters (35P30 or 35C30).
If you take 35C30, you have the number of ways to pick 30 seats out of 35 (the ones that will be occupied). But for every choice of these 30 occupied seats, every permutation of the 30 students will give a different seating plan.

2. Sixteen people attend a meeting. Each person greets everyone with a single handshake. Find the total number of handshakes that are exchanged.

Each person shakes 15 other people's hand but half of them are repeated so is it (15!)/2
Phew, 15!/2 is a big big number! If two handshakes would be exchanged every second you'd still be shaking after 10,000 years.

It's true that each person shakes 15 hands and then you count double, but that doesn't lead to 15! (=15*14*13*...*1)
 
  • #3
Got it, thanks a lot guys
 

1. What is combinatorics and why is it important?

Combinatorics is a branch of mathematics that deals with counting and arranging objects. It is important because it helps us solve problems related to probability, statistics, and computer science.

2. What is the difference between permutation and combination?

A permutation is an arrangement of a set of objects where the order matters, while a combination is a selection of objects from a set where the order does not matter.

3. How do you calculate the probability of an event?

The probability of an event is calculated by dividing the number of favorable outcomes by the total number of possible outcomes. This can be represented as P(event) = (number of favorable outcomes) / (total number of possible outcomes).

4. What is the difference between descriptive and inferential statistics?

Descriptive statistics involves summarizing and describing a set of data, while inferential statistics involves making predictions or drawing conclusions about a larger population based on a sample of data.

5. How do you determine the mean, median, and mode of a data set?

The mean is calculated by finding the sum of all the data values and dividing by the total number of values. The median is the middle value when the data is arranged in ascending or descending order. The mode is the most frequently occurring value in the data set.

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