Possible Permutations for 6-Position Car Plate: Numbers and Alphabets (ABC 123)

  • Thread starter Thread starter ZeroPivot
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Permutations
Click For Summary
The discussion focuses on calculating the permutations of a 6-position car plate consisting of 3 numbers and 3 letters, with the restriction that no character can be repeated. The formula used is (10!/(10-3)!)*(26!/(26-3)!), which accounts for selecting and arranging distinct numbers and letters. Clarification was provided that this calculation excludes permutations where the same number or letter appears multiple times in a slot, such as AAA 123 or ABC 111. The correct approach involves selecting 3 distinct digits from 10 and 3 distinct letters from 26, each with 6 possible arrangements. The conversation emphasizes the importance of distinct selections in determining the total number of valid permutations.
ZeroPivot
Messages
55
Reaction score
0

Homework Statement



Lets say a car plate has 6 positions, three of them are numbers and 3 of them are alphabetic.
e.g. ABC 123. I need to figure out how many possible permutations can occur using all the numbers and alphabets BUT i cannot use any number or alfabet twice in an permutation eg. AAB 123 or ABC 112 is forbidden.


Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution



first i split the problem, first the numbers then the alfabet:

NUMBERS:
so N1 is the number of numbers i can use which is 10 obviously. 0-9
K is the number of positions which is 3.

N1!/(N1-K)=10!/(10-3)!

ALFABET:
so N2 is the number of alfabets which is 26, K is the number of positions 3.

N2!/(N2-K)!=26!/(26-3)!

The ANSWER:

(N1!/(N1-K))*(N2!/(N2-K)!) = (10!/(10-3)!)*(26!/(26-3)!)

is the answer correct?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
That is correct, assuming every car plate has to use 3 letters and 3 digits. You can calculate that number as a final result.
 
  • Like
Likes 1 person
mfb said:
That is correct, assuming every car plate has to use 3 letters and 3 digits. You can calculate that number as a final result.

thanks, does the answer exclude the permutations where the same number or digit happens in all three slots? e.g. AAA 123 or ABC 111 ?
 
ZeroPivot said:
thanks, does the answer exclude the permutations where the same number or digit happens in all three slots? e.g. AAA 123 or ABC 111 ?
Yes, what you have is $$3! \cdot{10 \choose 3} \times 3! \cdot {26 \choose 3}$$ which means, in the first term you select 3 distinct objects from the group of size 10. Each choice of three objects then has 6 possible rearrangements. Similar for the other term.

If you are allowed to use the same objects more than once, then clearly the number of possible permutations will increase.
 
  • Like
Likes 1 person
Question: A clock's minute hand has length 4 and its hour hand has length 3. What is the distance between the tips at the moment when it is increasing most rapidly?(Putnam Exam Question) Answer: Making assumption that both the hands moves at constant angular velocities, the answer is ## \sqrt{7} .## But don't you think this assumption is somewhat doubtful and wrong?

Similar threads

Replies
6
Views
3K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
3K
  • · Replies 16 ·
Replies
16
Views
2K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
3K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 52 ·
2
Replies
52
Views
6K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
3K
Replies
1
Views
6K