Counting Balls in Boxes: Finding Solutions with Upper-Bound on Number of Balls

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves determining the number of ways to distribute 20 distinct balls into 5 distinct boxes with the constraint that no box can contain more than 10 balls. The original poster seeks guidance on how to set an upper bound on the number of balls in each box.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to relate the problem to a known equation for distributing balls into boxes, questioning how to apply an upper limit on the number of balls per box. Some participants suggest calculating the total arrangements first and then subtracting cases that violate the upper limit.

Discussion Status

Participants are exploring different interpretations of the problem and discussing the notation used. Some have offered initial steps for approaching the problem, while others express confusion about specific terms and concepts.

Contextual Notes

There is a mention of needing to account for permutations that exceed the upper limit of 10 balls in any box, indicating a potential complexity in the solution process. The original poster has not provided all necessary details for a complete resolution.

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Homework Statement



Specifically,

How many ways can you divide up 20 distinct balls into 5 distinct boxes so that no box contains more than 10 balls?

Homework Equations


This is similar to another problem in which we have to find the number of ways to divide up r balls into k boxes.

[tex]x_1+x_2+x_3+\ldots+x_k = r[/tex] where each [tex]x_i \geq 0[/tex]

This is equal to [tex]\binom{r+k-1}{k-1}[/tex]

If, we set a lower-bound on the number of balls in boxes, say, each box must contain at least [tex]s[/tex] balls, then the answer is: [tex]\binom{r-s+k-1}{k-1}[/tex].

My question is: How do I go about setting an upper-bound for the number of balls in each box?

The Attempt at a Solution



In my problem, I have to find the solutions for:
[tex]x_1+x_2+x_3+x_4+x_5 = 20[/tex] such that each [tex]x_i \leq 10[/tex]

I am unsure how to start or approach this problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
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bump, can anybody help?
 
I'm not sure what this notation means:

[tex]\binom{r-s+k-1}{k-1}[/tex]

Firstly work out how many ways there are to put 20 different balls in 5 different boxes, this is a nice easy bit of stats you can look up on wiki (combinations/permutations). Once you have this number you need to take away all the permutations where there are more than 10 balls in a box, slightly more challenging :)
 
Kelley said:
I'm not sure what this notation means:

[tex]\binom{r-s+k-1}{k-1}[/tex]

Firstly work out how many ways there are to put 20 different balls in 5 different boxes, this is a nice easy bit of stats you can look up on wiki (combinations/permutations). Once you have this number you need to take away all the permutations where there are more than 10 balls in a box, slightly more challenging :)


It's another way of writing [tex] <br /> ^nC_r<br /> [/tex]
 
snshusat161 said:
It's another way of writing [tex] <br /> ^nC_r<br /> [/tex]

Ah...

Makes sense!
 

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