How Many Possible Committees Can Be Chosen from a Group of 8 Men and 9 Women?

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on calculating the number of possible committees that can be formed from a group of 8 men and 9 women. For part (a), the total number of committees is determined using the combination formula, specifically (17 choose 7), resulting in 19448 possible committees. Part (b) requires calculating the number of committees with at least 6 women, which includes two scenarios: committees with 6 women and 1 man, and committees with 7 women, yielding a total of 1287 committees. Part (c) addresses the restriction of Bob and Alice not being on the same committee, calculated by subtracting the number of committees that include both from the total number of committees.

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Homework Statement



A committee of seven is to be chosen from 8 men and 9 women.
a) how many possible committees are there?
b) how many committees contain at least 6 woment?
c) if bob and alice cannot be on the same committee because they cannot work together well, how many committees are possible?

Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution



Not sure where to start really... other than writing down every possible committee
 
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Hints:

(a) This is a combination, (8+9) choose 7.

(b) (committee of 7 with 6 women) + (committee of 7 with 7 women)

(c) (all committees) - (those with both Bob and Alice).

--Elucidus
 

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