PERMUTATIONS
Permutations are used when you want to find how many different groups of things you can create out of a larger set of things, but the order matters. The easiest way to show what exactly you are looking for in a permutation is called Permutation Notation and looks like this:
nPr
where n is the number of objects you have in the entire set, and r is the number of objects in each ordered group you are trying to find. In all cases, n will always be the larger of the two numbers as it is the group that you are picking elements from. The equation for calculating the number of permutations is as follows:
nPr=(n−r)!n!
We’re just going to dive right into a problem in order to learn how to use this equation.
Let’s say that there is a local race track that has weekly auto races with 10 people in each race. Each person that places in 5th place or higher earns points that go towards their standings for the entire season, with the higher placing racers getting more points. In any given race, how many different permutations of point-earning racers would there be?
First, you have to decide which number is n and which is r. Here, n=10 as that is the total number of racers, and r=5, as that is the number of racers that can score points in each race. The equation would look like this with the numbers plugged in:
10P5=(10−5)!10!=5!10!
To solve this, you can’t just just divide 10 by 5, then take the factorial. However, you also don’t need to find each factorial individually before you divide the numbers. You can cancel out factors that are in both the numerator and denominator. In this case, its (5⋅4⋅3⋅2⋅1).
5!10!=5⋅4⋅3⋅2⋅110⋅9⋅8⋅7⋅6⋅5⋅4⋅3⋅2⋅1=10⋅9⋅8⋅7⋅6=30,240.
If you're still a little uncomfortable with the idea, here is a video that goes over both Permutations and Combinations in depth by Brandon Foltz on YouTube.