Permutations and Combinations Practice Problems

AI Thread Summary
The discussion focuses on solving two problems related to permutations and combinations. The first problem involves calculating the number of six-letter subsets with 2 consonants and 4 vowels, emphasizing the need to account for permutations of the letters. The second problem addresses the election of 4 students from a council of 22, with variations for including or excluding a vice president, detailing the steps for selecting a president, vice president, and additional members. Participants express uncertainty about their calculations and seek clarification on the correct application of combinations and permutations. Overall, the thread highlights the complexities of combinatorial problems and the importance of understanding the distinctions between different selection methods.
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1. The problem statement, all variables and given/known

Homework Statement


1)How many six letter subsets can you make if 2 are consonants and 4 are vowels.

2) There are 22 students in the student council and 4 people are to be elected. How many ways can they be elected if:
a) there must be a vice president and president
b) vice president is excluded


Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution



1)
21x21x5x5x5x5

Is there a way to do this via combinations?

2a) C(22,2) * C(2,2)
b) C(22,3) * C(2,1)


These are probably horribly wrong, but I am trying. Any help would be appreciated!
 
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1) You have not allowed for permutations of the letters chosen. IF all 6 letters are different, then there are 6! ways but you will have to allow for the same two consonants, etc.

2) First, choose a president. There are 22 ways to do that. Then choose a vice-president. There are 21 ways to do that. Finally choose 2 other members from the 20 remaining students. Permutations of the same students are not relevant.

3) Again, there are 22 ways to choose a president. Then choose 3 other members from the 21 remaining students. Permutations of the same students are not relevant.
 


HallsofIvy said:
1) You have not allowed for permutations of the letters chosen. IF all 6 letters are different, then there are 6! ways but you will have to allow for the same two consonants, etc.

2) First, choose a president. There are 22 ways to do that. Then choose a vice-president. There are 21 ways to do that. Finally choose 2 other members from the 20 remaining students. Permutations of the same students are not relevant.

3) Again, there are 22 ways to choose a president. Then choose 3 other members from the 21 remaining students. Permutations of the same students are not relevant.

1) Not quite sure what you mean here.

2) (22,1) * (21,1) * (20,2) ?

3) (22,1) * (21,3)
 


Anyone? I have a test tomorrow and am unsure :/
 
I picked up this problem from the Schaum's series book titled "College Mathematics" by Ayres/Schmidt. It is a solved problem in the book. But what surprised me was that the solution to this problem was given in one line without any explanation. I could, therefore, not understand how the given one-line solution was reached. The one-line solution in the book says: The equation is ##x \cos{\omega} +y \sin{\omega} - 5 = 0##, ##\omega## being the parameter. From my side, the only thing I could...

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