Counting problem whose solution requires at least three different counting techniques

This is the Social Golfer Problem. You're looking for Resolvable Steiner Quadruple Systems. The highest known solution I know about is for 32 golfers playing in foursomes for 10 days.

The names of what actually needs to be looked for are somewhat scattered. For example, 36 golfers in foursomes can play for 11 days. This is a 4-RGDD of type $2^{18}$.

Theoretically, the 100 golfers in your group could be split into foursomes 33 (1 person + 3x33) times, but that would be a perfect covering, and those are pretty well known. This isn't a perfect covering listed in the Handbook of Combinatorial Designs, so it's likely something tricky, or nonperfect and trickier.

The La Jolla Covering Repository stops at 99 points. There is a C(99,4,2) = 817 design... if this was resolvable (splittable into groups covering 1-100), 817/25 = 32.65, so maybe you could get 32 splits.

Maybe the Design of the Century is resolvable. In that case, you've got a perfect solution. That paper has various references for this particular design. In any case, you'll find an answer within combinatorial methods far faster than with any kind of brute force approach.

Did you know that there’s a way to determine the total number of possible outcomes for a given situation?

Counting problem whose solution requires at least three different counting techniques

Jenn, Founder Calcworkshop®, 15+ Years Experience (Licensed & Certified Teacher)

In fact, an entire branch of mathematics is devoted to the study of counting, and it’s called combinatorics. Combinatorics studies combinations, permutations, and enumerations of sets of elements.

While you may have already studied these topics in Algebra, the next three lessons along with the pigeonhole principle and binomial theorem, will highlight fundamental concepts of counting and focus on the more challenging aspects of advanced counting.

In this lesson, we will focus on enumeration, or counting objects or elements, that contain specific properties.

Definition

The Fundamental Counting Principle, sometimes referred to as the fundamental counting rule, is a way to figure out the number of possible outcomes for a given situation.

While there are five basic counting principles: addition, multiplication, subtraction, cardinality (principle of inclusion-exclusion), and division. The one that is most closely associated with the title of “fundamental counting principle” is the multiplication rule, where if there are p ways to do one task and q ways to another task, then there are pxq ways to do both.

Now, in this video we will look at the first four rules and tackle the remaining counting principle in the next few lessons.

Okay, so first, let us discuss two most pivotal concepts for counting:

  1. Addition Principle
  2. Multiplication Principle

Addition Principle (Rule of Sum)

The Sum Rule states that if a task can be performed in either two ways, where the two methods cannot be performed simultaneously, then completing the job can be done by the sum of the ways to perform the task.

Counting problem whose solution requires at least three different counting techniques

Rule Of Sums

Example

For instance, suppose a bakery has a selection of 20 different cupcakes, 10 different donuts, and 15 different muffins. If you are to select a tasty treat, how many different choices of sweets can you choose from?

Here’s how this works.

Because we have to choose from either a cupcake or donut or muffin (notice the “OR”), we have 20 + 10 + 15 = 45 treats to choose from.

Multiplication Principle (Rule of Product)

The Product Rule states that if a task can be performed in a sequence of tasks, one after the other, then completing the job can be done by the product of the ways to perform the task as noted by Lumen Learning.

Counting problem whose solution requires at least three different counting techniques

Rule Of Product

Example #1

Continuing our story from above, suppose a bakery has a selection of 20 different cupcakes, 10 different donuts, and 15 different muffins — how many different orders are there?

What makes this question different from the first problem is that we are not asking how many total choices there are. We are asking how many different ways we can select a treat.

It’s possible that you only want one treat, but you can quite easily want more than one.

So how many different orders can you create, if you’re allowed to choose as few or as many as you like?

This is the job for the product rule!

Because we can choose treats from a selection of cupcakes and donuts and muffins (notice the “AND”), we 20 x 10 x 15 = 3,000 ordering options.

Example #2

Now let’s look at another example. Suppose a mathematics faculty and 83 mathematics majors, and no one is both a faculty member and a student. Solution: By the sum rule, it follows that there are 37 + 83 = 120 possible ways to pick a representative.

Remember, the product rule states that if there are p ways to do one task and q ways to another task, then there are pxq ways to do both.

Principle Of Inclusion Exclusion

And this leads us to the Principle of Inclusion-Exclusion (PIE), sometimes called the subtraction rule.

Counting problem whose solution requires at least three different counting techniques

Subtraction Rule Pie

Definition

This rule states that if a task can be done in either p or q ways, the total number of ways to complete the job is p + q minus the number of ways to do the task that are common to both p and q, which alleviates the possibility of double counting.

Counting problem whose solution requires at least three different counting techniques

Inclusion Exclusion Formula

Now, we’ve seen all of these ideas before in either previous units such as sets or our study of functions and statistics in Algebra. So, it’s time to combine these concepts to solve more challenging counting problems where we may need to combine all of the counting rules listed above.

Hard Example #1

In this problem, suppose four cards are chosen at random from a standard 52-card deck, with replacement. And we wish to determine the number of four-card sequences where all four cards are from the same suit.

Well, what do we know?

There are four suits in a deck (diamonds, hearts, clubs, spades), which means there are 13 cards in each suit.

And if we want to determine the number of four-card sequences that are all the same suit, then this would mean that we would be looking for either all hearts or all diamonds or all clubs or all spades.

Counting problem whose solution requires at least three different counting techniques

Choose Cards Same Suit — Example

Hence, there are 114244 possibilities!

Hard Example #2

Additionally, what if we were interested in knowing how many integer numbers less than 500 ends with 0?

First, we need to determine how many one-digit numbers are less than 500 and end with 0. Well, there’s only one number (i.e., “0”) that fits that description, so there’s only one possible way to get this value.

Second, we need to think of all the two-digit numbers that are less than 500 and end with 0. Well, for a number to have two digits, the first digit can’t be 0, so that means we are limited to choosing digits ranging from 1-9, and the second digit has to be zero, so there’s only 1 possible value for this.

And finally, we need to think of all the three-digit numbers that are less than 500 and end with zero. Well, for a number to have three digits, the first digit can’t be 0. And secondly, the number has to be less than 500, so the digit must be a value of 4 or less. Therefore, our first digit for this three-digit number ranging from 1-4. Now the second digit can be any value, so that means it can range from 0-9, and our third digit has to be zero, so there’s only 1 possible value for this.

Counting problem whose solution requires at least three different counting techniques

How Many Four Digit Numbers — Example

This means there are 1 + (9)(1) + (4)(10)(1) = 50 different numbers that are less than 500 and end with 0!

Summary?

Together we will look at various examples using advanced techniques involving the counting principle as well as the sum and product rules to ensure understanding of counting principles.

Video Tutorial w/ Full Lesson & Detailed Examples

1 hr 17 min

  • Introduction to Video
  • 00:00:32 What is the Multiplication Rule? (Examples #1-5)
  • Exclusive Content for Members Only
  • 00:23:55 Overview of the Sum Rule and the Principle of Inclusion-Exclusion? (Examples #6-7)
  • 00:35:45 Determine the number of subsets (Examples #8-9)
  • 00:41:49 How many three-digit or four-digit integer numbers end with zero (Example #10)
  • 00:52:50 Use multiplication rule and sum rule to find the number of arrangements (Examples #11-12)
  • 00:58:04 How many four-letter arrangements can be made if repetition is not allowed (Example #13)
  • 01:03:04 On a multiple choice test how many ways can a student answer? (Example #14)
  • 01:06:12 Discover the number of four-card sequences from a standard deck (Example #15a-e)
  • Practice Problems with Step-by-Step Solutions
  • Chapter Tests with Video Solutions

Get access to all the courses and over 450 HD videos with your subscription

Monthly and Yearly Plans Available

Get My Subscription Now

Still wondering if CalcWorkshop is right for you?
Take a Tour and find out how a membership can take the struggle out of learning math.

What are the 3 counting techniques?

The specific counting techniques we will explore include the multiplication rule, permutations and combinations.

What are the different types of counting techniques?

Stats: Counting Techniques.
Arithmetic. Every integer greater than one is either prime or can be expressed as an unique product of prime numbers..
Algebra. ... .
Linear Programming. ... .
Permutations using all the objects. ... .
Permutations of some of the objects. ... .
Distinguishable Permutations. ... .
Pascal's Triangle. ... .
Symmetry..

What is counting technique with example?

There are times when the sample space or event space are very large, that it isn't feasible to write it out. In that case, it helps to have mathematical tools for counting the size of the sample space and event space. These tools are known as counting techniques.