Basketball roster probability problem

In summary: C(10,3)*C(10,2))*2In summary, to form teams of 4 students using a basketball coach with 10 students, the coach would have to multiply 4*(C(10,3)*C(10,2)) by 2.
  • #1
Roni1985
201
0

Homework Statement


A basketball coach has 10 boys and 10 girls on his roster. In how many ways can the coach partition the group of 20 into 4 teams of 5 students such that there are at least 2 boys and 2 girls on each team ?


The Attempt at a Solution



I tried nCr(10,3)*nCr(10,2) + nCr(7,3)*nCr(8,2) + nCr(6,3)*nCr(4,2)=6500

I think it's correct but I am not sure.

Thanks.
 
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  • #2


I think that number's way too small. The number of ways you can form just one team is already [C(10,3)*C(10,2)]*2=5400*2=10800. (The factor of 2 is there for this example because you can have 3 boys and 2 girls or 2 boys and 3 girls.)

Try working out what you get if you had 3 boys and 3 girls and had to form three teams with at least one boy and one girl each. It's easy enough to write down all the combinations and see how to count them.
 
  • #3


vela said:
I think that number's way too small. The number of ways you can form just one team is already [C(10,3)*C(10,2)]*2=5400*2=10800. (The factor of 2 is there for this example because you can have 3 boys and 2 girls or 2 boys and 3 girls.)

Try working out what you get if you had 3 boys and 3 girls and had to form three teams with at least one boy and one girl each. It's easy enough to write down all the combinations and see how to count them.

hey,
thanks for the response.
So, basically I have to multiply everything by 2, correct?
2*[C(10,3)*C(10,2)+C(7,3)*C(8,2)+C(6,3)*C(4,2)]=13000

??
 
  • #4


No, that factor of two is only there because forming only one team leaves students that weren't chosen. When you form four teams, every student gets assigned to a team. If you count the ways to form all four teams, you end up covering every possible combination, so there's no need to double the number.

For instance, suppose you had three girls (A, B, and C) and three boys (0, 1, and 2), and you want to form two teams, each with at least one boy and one girl. One possible team is AB0, so the other team has to be C12. When you count AB0, you're already counting C12. If you were to count the team C12 again separately, you'd be double-counting.
 
  • #5


vela said:
No, that factor of two is only there because forming only one team leaves students that weren't chosen. When you form four teams, every student gets assigned to a team. If you count the ways to form all four teams, you end up covering every possible combination, so there's no need to double the number.

For instance, suppose you had three girls (A, B, and C) and three boys (0, 1, and 2), and you want to form two teams, each with at least one boy and one girl. One possible team is AB0, so the other team has to be C12. When you count AB0, you're already counting C12. If you were to count the team C12 again separately, you'd be double-counting.

I understand what you are saying, but if I don't need to multiply by two, I don't understand my mistake.

I understand that I don't need to multiply by two because every kid gets assigned.

As far as I understand it,

2*(C(10,3)*C(10,2))
here we multiply by two because we can have either a team of three boys or a team of three girls, right?

now for the second one we also can have either, so multiply the second one by two also ?
However, for the last two there is 1 option only.
So, we multiply by two the first two ?

Is this what you mean ?

OR

is my combination incorrect ?

Thanks.
 
  • #6


Your calculating the ways you can form the first team, the second team, and the third team correctly. You're just not calculating the total number of possibilities correctly.

Think about flipping 3 coins. Your calculation is akin to saying since the each coin can come up heads or tails, there are 2+2+2=6 ways possible outcomes of flipping 3 coins, but there's actually 8: hhh, hht, hth, htt, thh, tht, tth, and ttt.
 
  • #7


vela said:
Your calculating the ways you can form the first team, the second team, and the third team correctly. You're just not calculating the total number of possibilities correctly.

Think about flipping 3 coins. Your calculation is akin to saying since the each coin can come up heads or tails, there are 2+2+2=6 ways possible outcomes of flipping 3 coins, but there's actually 8: hhh, hht, hth, htt, thh, tht, tth, and ttt.

Well,
if this is incorrect:
2*(C(10,3)*C(10,2)) + 2*(C(7,3)*C(8,2)) + C(6,3)*C(4,2)

is incorrect, I don't know how to get the correct answer.
Can you please tell me how to get the correct answer?

Thanks.

EDIT:

so basically I need to multiply them ?
if we go according to the possibilities of filliping a coin, we need to multiply them all ?
so what we get is :

4*(C(10,3)*C(10,2))*(C(7,3)*C(8,2)) *(C(6,3)*C(4,2))

?
 
  • #8


In your edit you should be dividing by 4 rather than multiplying because the two boy teams (teams with 3 boys) can be switched and it wouldn't make a difference to the partition, same goes with the two girl teams (3 girls on the team).
 
  • #9


Mandark said:
In your edit you should be dividing by 4 rather than multiplying because the two boy teams (teams with 3 boys) can be switched and it wouldn't make a difference to the partition, same goes with the two girl teams (3 girls on the team).

I see.
THanks.
 
Last edited:
  • #10


Mandark said:
In your edit you should be dividing by 4 rather than multiplying because the two boy teams (teams with 3 boys) can be switched and it wouldn't make a difference to the partition, same goes with the two girl teams (3 girls on the team).


Now that I am reading it again, why did we need just to divide by 4 and not also multiply by ?

I think Vela's method was correcct
There are 2 options how we can form the first group 2*[C(10,3)*C(10,2)]- it can either be 3B 2G OR 3G 2B. therefore, we need to multiply by two ...
I guess we need to multiply the numerator by 8 ?! and divide by 4 ? (I also understand why you are saying that we need to divide and I think you are right about this. But I am not sure why not to multiply ?!)

THanks.
 
  • #11


That reasoning is correct for the first group, but try to continue it for the 2nd and 3rd groups (particularly the 3rd), and you'll begin to see where the difficulty lies in that approach (you won't end up with the same product as you wrote).

Giving an interpretation to the product you wrote down, you can think of the process as selecting a boy group, then another boy group, then a girl group, then another girl group (here boy group means group containing 3 boys). How do you select the first boy group? C(10,3) * C(10,2). Once this group is selected how do you select the second boy group? C(7,3) * C(8,2). Then the first girl group C(4,2) * C(6,3) and finally the last girl group C(2,2) * C(3,3). Once you do this you've over counted by a factor of 4, since you've counted the boy groups A then B, and B then A as different. Same goes for the girl groups.
 
  • #12


Roni1985 said:
Now that I am reading it again, why did we need just to divide by 4 and not also multiply by ?

I think Vela's method was correcct
There are 2 options how we can form the first group 2*[C(10,3)*C(10,2)]- it can either be 3B 2G OR 3G 2B. therefore, we need to multiply by two ...
I guess we need to multiply the numerator by 8 ?! and divide by 4 ? (I also understand why you are saying that we need to divide and I think you are right about this. But I am not sure why not to multiply ?!)
Remember, you're counting possible partitions, not possible teams. As Mandark noted, you can think of forming two boy teams and two girl teams. Every partition will contain a pair of 3B-2G teams and pair of 3G-2B teams. If you count the 3B-2G teams separately from the 3G-2B teams, you will be counting each partition that contains a specific combination of those teams multiple times.

Again, to make what we're saying more concrete, I encourage you to work out what happens if you have fewer boys and girls and form smaller teams. You can list every possible team and possible partitioning and count them. Then try to calculate those numbers mathematically, and you'll hopefully see how the calculations work out.
 
  • #13
Mandark said:
That reasoning is correct for the first group, but try to continue it for the 2nd and 3rd groups (particularly the 3rd), and you'll begin to see where the difficulty lies in that approach (you won't end up with the same product as you wrote).
Giving an interpretation to the product you wrote down, you can think of the process as selecting a boy group, then another boy group, then a girl group, then another girl group (here boy group means group containing 3 boys). How do you select the first boy group? C(10,3) * C(10,2). Once this group is selected how do you select the second boy group? C(7,3) * C(8,2). Then the first girl group C(4,2) * C(6,3) and finally the last girl group C(2,2) * C(3,3). Once you do this you've over counted by a factor of 4, since you've counted the boy groups A then B, and B then A as different. Same goes for the girl groups.

I don't get it... Is it totally wrong ?
I understand what u r saying, but how do u know which team is first ? We have 4 factorial combinations ( ggbb,gbgb,bbgg etc.)

thanks.
 
  • #14
vela said:
Remember, you're counting possible partitions, not possible teams. As Mandark noted, you can think of forming two boy teams and two girl teams. Every partition will contain a pair of 3B-2G teams and pair of 3G-2B teams. If you count the 3B-2G teams separately from the 3G-2B teams, you will be counting each partition that contains a specific combination of those teams multiple times.

Again, to make what we're saying more concrete, I encourage you to work out what happens if you have fewer boys and girls and form smaller teams. You can list every possible team and possible partitioning and count them. Then try to calculate those numbers mathematically, and you'll hopefully see how the calculations work out.

I'm getting more confused, what do you mean calculating them seperately is not going to work? I'm not calculating them seperately.
Can you tell me what the answer is so I could compare it with my answer and see my mistake? Tnx
 
  • #15


Actually, after reading your posts again, I think I understand why I need to divide and not multiply by 4.
It doesn't matter if we start with the boy or the girl team, it get completed by the whole combination.

Thank you very much for the help.
 

What is the "Basketball roster probability problem"?

The "Basketball roster probability problem" is a mathematical problem that involves determining the number of possible combinations for creating a basketball roster from a pool of players with different positions and skills.

Why is the "Basketball roster probability problem" important?

The "Basketball roster probability problem" is important because it helps coaches and team managers make strategic decisions when selecting players for a team. It also allows for the optimization of team composition based on the strengths and weaknesses of individual players.

How is the "Basketball roster probability problem" solved?

The "Basketball roster probability problem" can be solved using the principles of combinatorics and probability. It involves calculating the total number of possible combinations for a given number of players and positions, and then determining the probability of each combination occurring.

What factors affect the "Basketball roster probability problem"?

The main factors that affect the "Basketball roster probability problem" are the number of players available, the number of positions to be filled, and the specific skills and abilities required for each position. Other factors may include team chemistry, player injuries, and coaching strategies.

How can the "Basketball roster probability problem" be applied to other sports?

The principles of the "Basketball roster probability problem" can be applied to other team sports such as soccer, football, and baseball. It can also be used in other areas such as employee scheduling, project management, and event planning.

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