Number of Paths on 5x5 Chessboard: Solve the Puzzle!

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on calculating the number of distinct paths on a 5x5 chessboard, where movement is restricted to the right or upward. The correct formula for determining the number of paths from the lower left corner to the upper right corner is given by the binomial coefficient \(\binom{8}{4} = \frac{8!}{4!4!}\), as there are 4 moves up and 4 moves right required. The general formula for an nxn chessboard is \(\binom{2n-2}{n-1} = \frac{(2n-2)!}{(n-1)!(n-1)!}\). The discussion clarifies the miscalculation of moves for different board sizes.

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westgrant88
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I know there is a formula for how many of a certain thing like squares on a 8x8 chessboard but I haven't come across anything on pathways .Is there one for this type of problem?Any help would be appreciated.
Consider a 5-by-5 chessboard. You want to move a nickel from the lower left corner to the upper right corner. You are only allowed to move the nickel one square at a time, and each move must be either to the right or up. How many different paths are possible?
Thanks
 
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For an 8x8 board...
If you can only move up or right, then that simplifies things considerably. Note that no matter which path you choose, you must move right 7 times and up 7 times, so we have 14 "moves" in total, no matter which path you choose. Basically, we have 14 slots and want to know how many ways there are to insert 7 ups and 7 rights into those slots. Really, we just want to know the number of ways to arrange 7 objects in 15 slots, since we then get the other 7 for free (just use the empty slots). The solution is then...
\displaystyle \binom{14}{7} = \frac{14!}{7!7!}

For a generic nxn board it would be...

\displaystyle \binom{2n-2}{n-1} = \frac{(2n-2)!}{(n-1)!(n-1)!}
 
Last edited:
never mind I didnt see the edit.
 
westgrant88 said:
Just wondering how you get 7 moves right and 7 up. Icount 4 and 4. How am I missing 3?

That's my bad; I did it for an 8x8. For a 5x5, you're right, it would be 4 moves up and 4 moves right.
 

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