Counting Routes in a 4x6 Grid: How Many Ways to Reach the End?

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on calculating the number of unique paths in a 4x6 grid, starting from the bottom left corner and moving to the top right corner using only right and up moves. The solution provided by MarkFL demonstrates that there are 10 total moves required (6 right and 4 up), leading to the conclusion that the number of unique paths is given by the binomial coefficient ${10 \choose 6}$ or ${10 \choose 4}$, resulting in 210 unique paths. The alternative method discussed involves treating each grid point as a sub-destination, reinforcing the combinatorial approach to the problem.

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Consider a 4x6 grid. You begin in the bottom left corner and want to navigate to the top right corner. You can only move right or up, and you can move just one space per move. How many ways are there to get to the end point?

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There are at least two ways of solving this. One uses a method of counting arrangements of a set and the other involves looking at each point as a sub-destination that can be reached in a finite number of ways as well.
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Congratulations to the following members for their correct solutions:

1) MarkFL
2) Sudharaka

Solution (from MarkFL): [sp]Every path from start to end contains 6 moves to the right and 4 moves up, for a total of 10 moves. Thus, to find the number of unique paths, we simple find the number of ways to choose 6 from 10 or equivalently 4 from 10. So, the number $N$ of unique paths is given by:

$\displaystyle N={10 \choose 6}={10 \choose 4}=210$[/sp]
 

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