12-6 Permutations and Combinations

Objective

To find permutations and combinations

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Essential Understanding You can use counting methods to find the number of possible ways to choose objects with and without regard to order.

One way to find the possible orders of objects is to make an organized list. Another way is to make a tree diagram. Both methods help you see if you have thought of all the possibilities.

The tree diagram below shows all the possible orders for watching three movies (a comedy, a drama, and an action film).

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There are six possible orders for watching the three movies.

When one event does not affect the result of a second event, the events are independent. When events are independent, you can find the number of outcomes using the Multiplication Counting Principle.

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