Last visit was: 20 Apr 2026, 13:45 It is currently 20 Apr 2026, 13:45
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
User avatar
sanemask
Joined: 11 May 2015
Last visit: 20 Oct 2015
Posts: 3
Given Kudos: 2
Posts: 3
Kudos: 0
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
ENGRTOMBA2018
Joined: 20 Mar 2014
Last visit: 01 Dec 2021
Posts: 2,319
Own Kudos:
3,889
 [1]
Given Kudos: 816
Concentration: Finance, Strategy
GMAT 1: 750 Q49 V44
GPA: 3.7
WE:Engineering (Aerospace and Defense)
Products:
GMAT 1: 750 Q49 V44
Posts: 2,319
Kudos: 3,889
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
sanemask
Joined: 11 May 2015
Last visit: 20 Oct 2015
Posts: 3
Given Kudos: 2
Posts: 3
Kudos: 0
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
ENGRTOMBA2018
Joined: 20 Mar 2014
Last visit: 01 Dec 2021
Posts: 2,319
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 816
Concentration: Finance, Strategy
GMAT 1: 750 Q49 V44
GPA: 3.7
WE:Engineering (Aerospace and Defense)
Products:
GMAT 1: 750 Q49 V44
Posts: 2,319
Kudos: 3,889
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
sanemask
Engr2012
sanemask
Hi,

how many different ways can this fixed sequence be rearranged?
and what is the formula for this?

For 2 B and 2 G: There are 6 ways it can be rearranged

BGBG
BBGG
GGBB
GBBG
BGGB
GBGB

Don't Tell me it's N!/(N-R)!R! because It just incidentally has the same result for this case.


To elaborate, I will introduce more several similar cases:

For 2 G and 1 B: There are 3 different ways

GGB
GBG
BGG

For 3 G and 1 B: There are 4 different ways

GGGB
BGGG
GBGG
GGBG

Which N!/(N-R)!R! cannot come to a result

PS. If i were ever mistaken, N!/(N-R)!R! is for entirely different case right? It's for combinations like lottery scenario that shows how many different way can slots of numbers be picking out while order doesn't matter



Or Furthermore, for 2 A, 2 B and 2 C...... who knows for this one, I don't even want to try lol

AABBCC
so on.....

Thank you,

What you are asking is "how at ARRANGE...". The standard formula for such a thing is as follows

Case 1: 2 B and 2G , number of arrangements = 4!/(2!*2!)=6 ---> 4! = number of arrangements of 4 elements but as 2 Bs and 2 Gs are exactly the same so you need to divide 4! by 2*2! to account for this "sameness" and to eliminate repeated arrangements.

Case 2: 3 G and 1 B, again the same principle = 4!/ (3!) = 4 arrangements

Case 3: 2A, 2B, 2C = 6!/(2!*2*2!) = 720/8 = 90 ways

Additionally, the formulae for arrangements and combinations is as follows:

For arrangement of AA...A (m times)BBBBB...(n times)CCCCC....(p times)DDDDD...(q times) etc , the number of arrangements = (m+n+p+q)!/(m!*n!*p!*q!)

For choosing p elements out of a total of n objects = nCp = n!/(p!*(n-p)!)

Hope this helps.



Thank you sir,

and one more thing, what is the formula called?

I know that the last one is called combination.


When you talk about arrangements, it is called permutations and when you talk about selections it is known as combinations.

Hope this helps.
User avatar
VeritasPrepDennis
User avatar
Veritas Prep GMAT Instructor
Joined: 15 Jul 2015
Last visit: 08 Jul 2022
Posts: 108
Own Kudos:
189
 [1]
Given Kudos: 11
GPA: 3.62
WE:Corporate Finance (Consulting)
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 108
Kudos: 189
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
sanemask
Engr2012
sanemask
Hi,

how many different ways can this fixed sequence be rearranged?
and what is the formula for this?

For 2 B and 2 G: There are 6 ways it can be rearranged

BGBG
BBGG
GGBB
GBBG
BGGB
GBGB

Don't Tell me it's N!/(N-R)!R! because It just incidentally has the same result for this case.


To elaborate, I will introduce more several similar cases:

For 2 G and 1 B: There are 3 different ways

GGB
GBG
BGG

For 3 G and 1 B: There are 4 different ways

GGGB
BGGG
GBGG
GGBG

Which N!/(N-R)!R! cannot come to a result

PS. If i were ever mistaken, N!/(N-R)!R! is for entirely different case right? It's for combinations like lottery scenario that shows how many different way can slots of numbers be picking out while order doesn't matter



Or Furthermore, for 2 A, 2 B and 2 C...... who knows for this one, I don't even want to try lol

AABBCC
so on.....

Thank you,

What you are asking is "how at ARRANGE...". The standard formula for such a thing is as follows

Case 1: 2 B and 2G , number of arrangements = 4!/(2!*2!)=6 ---> 4! = number of arrangements of 4 elements but as 2 Bs and 2 Gs are exactly the same so you need to divide 4! by 2*2! to account for this "sameness" and to eliminate repeated arrangements.

Case 2: 3 G and 1 B, again the same principle = 4!/ (3!) = 4 arrangements

Case 3: 2A, 2B, 2C = 6!/(2!*2*2!) = 720/8 = 90 ways

Additionally, the formulae for arrangements and combinations is as follows:

For arrangement of AA...A (m times)BBBBB...(n times)CCCCC....(p times)DDDDD...(q times) etc , the number of arrangements = (m+n+p+q)!/(m!*n!*p!*q!)

For choosing p elements out of a total of n objects = nCp = n!/(p!*(n-p)!)

Hope this helps.



Thank you sir,

and one more thing, what is the formula called?

I know that the last one is called combination.

sanemask -

This formula is for Permutations with repeating elements. You will use this formula for questions whenever there are multiple instances of one or more of the items to be arranged (such as, "how many ways can the letters of the MISSISSIPPI be arranged", or what is the probability of getting exactly 3 Heads when flipping a coin 5 times).



Archived Topic
Hi there,
This topic has been closed and archived due to inactivity or violation of community quality standards. No more replies are possible here.
Where to now? Join ongoing discussions on thousands of quality questions in our Quantitative Questions Forum
Still interested in this question? Check out the "Best Topics" block above for a better discussion on this exact question, as well as several more related questions.
Thank you for understanding, and happy exploring!