Why Does (n 0) Equal 1 in Combinatorics?

  • Thread starter Thread starter lalapnt
  • Start date Start date
AI Thread Summary
In combinatorics, the expression (n 0) equals 1 because it represents the number of ways to choose 0 elements from a set of n elements, which is always one way—by choosing nothing. This is defined using binomial coefficients, expressed mathematically as \binom{n}{k}=\frac{n!}{k!(n-k)!}. The confusion often arises because this notation is not commonly used in high school math curricula. The convention that 0! equals 1 is crucial to understanding this concept. Overall, the topic highlights the importance of binomial coefficients in combinatorial mathematics.
lalapnt
Messages
17
Reaction score
0
2cct0d5.png


in the above pic, (n 0) = 1?? what topic in math is that? i never saw this in my high school math and only saw it in my uni class. i don't know how that is. can someone please help me?
 
Mathematics news on Phys.org
They are binomial coefficients. We define

\binom{n}{k}=\frac{n!}{k! (n-k)!}

You have no doubt seen this before in combinatorics, but with other notation. It is a mystery to me why high school textbooks don't use the \binom{n}{k} notation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binomial_coefficient
 
super! and of course i know about binomial coefficients. just like this
cf53c9e57be2cdfe572da491e078d9ff.png


thank you very much. now I'm not scared anymore! :D
 
Suppose ,instead of the usual x,y coordinate system with an I basis vector along the x -axis and a corresponding j basis vector along the y-axis we instead have a different pair of basis vectors ,call them e and f along their respective axes. I have seen that this is an important subject in maths My question is what physical applications does such a model apply to? I am asking here because I have devoted quite a lot of time in the past to understanding convectors and the dual...
Insights auto threads is broken atm, so I'm manually creating these for new Insight articles. In Dirac’s Principles of Quantum Mechanics published in 1930 he introduced a “convenient notation” he referred to as a “delta function” which he treated as a continuum analog to the discrete Kronecker delta. The Kronecker delta is simply the indexed components of the identity operator in matrix algebra Source: https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/what-exactly-is-diracs-delta-function/ by...

Similar threads

Replies
2
Views
2K
Replies
55
Views
5K
Replies
3
Views
2K
Replies
14
Views
2K
Replies
17
Views
2K
Replies
1
Views
2K
Replies
1
Views
1K
Replies
25
Views
7K
Replies
66
Views
6K
Back
Top