How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used

In order to continue enjoying our site, we ask that you confirm your identity as a human. Thank you very much for your cooperation.

The word ARRANGEMENT has $11$ letters, not all of them distinct. Imagine that they are written on little Scrabble squares. And suppose we have $11$ consecutive slots into which to put these squares.

There are $\dbinom{11}{2}$ ways to choose the slots where the two A's will go. For each of these ways, there are $\dbinom{9}{2}$ ways to decide where the two R's will go. For every decision about the A's and R's, there are $\dbinom{7}{2}$ ways to decide where the N's will go. Similarly, there are now $\dbinom{5}{2}$ ways to decide where the E's will go. That leaves $3$ gaps, and $3$ singleton letters, which can be arranged in $3!$ ways, for a total of $$\binom{11}{2}\binom{9}{2}\binom{7}{2}\binom{5}{2}3!.$$

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used

Intern

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used

Joined: 20 Jul 2005

Posts: 21

Location: Vietnam

In how many ways can the letters of the word "COMPUTER" be arranged? [#permalink]

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used
  Updated on: 26 Feb 2019, 03:45

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used

00:00

Question Stats:

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used
89% (01:53) correct
How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used
11% (07:06) wrong
How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used
based on 204 sessions

Hide Show timer Statistics

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used

In how many ways can the letters of the word "COMPUTER" be arranged?1) Without any restrictions.2) M must always occur at the third place.3) All the vowels are together.4) All the vowels are never together.

5) Vowels occupy the even positions[/b]


Originally posted by sonfbm on 25 Jun 2007, 13:04.
Last edited by Bunuel on 26 Feb 2019, 03:45, edited 1 time in total.

Edited the question.

Math Expert

Joined: 02 Sep 2009

Posts: 87856

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used
How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used
How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used

Re: In how many ways can the letters of the word "COMPUTER" be arranged? [#permalink]

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used
  19 Feb 2012, 03:27

On how many ways can the letters of the word "COMPUTER" be arranged?1. Without any restrictions:Since all letters in the word "COMPUTER" are distinct then the # of arrangements is 8!.2. M must always occur at the third place:M is fixed at the third place, other 7 distinct letters can be arranged in 7! ways,3. All the vowels are together:Consider three vowels as one unit: {OEU}. Thus we'll have total of 6 units: {OEU}{C}{M}{P}{T}{R}, which can be arranged in 6! ways. Three vowels within their unit can be arranged in 3! ways. Total: 6!*3!.4. All the vowels are never together:Total minus restriction: 8!-6!*3!.5. Vowels occupy the even positions (the vowels can occupy only even positions): C|O|M|P|U|T|E|RO|E|O|E|O|E|O|E (O and E stand for odd and even positions respectively).# of arrangements would be \(C^3_4*3!*5!=4!*5!=2880\).\(C^3_4\) - choosing which 3 even positions out of 4 will be occupied by vowels (there are 4 even positions: 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th and only 3 vowels); \(3!\) - # of different arrangements of these vowels on their even positions;\(5!\) - # of different arrangements of 8-3=5 other letters left.Hope it helps. _________________

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used

Senior Manager

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used

Joined: 13 Mar 2007

Posts: 361

Schools:MIT Sloan

Re: In how many ways can the letters of the word "COMPUTER" be arranged? [#permalink]

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used
  25 Jun 2007, 18:39

3) All vowels are together - C-O-M-P-U-T-E-R has 3 vowels - for them to be together, consider them as a single entity say K, so now we have 6 alphabets (C,M,P,T,R,K) - 6! ways K comprises of 3 alphates - so K can arrange itself in 3! ways, hence total 6! x 3! 5) There are 4 even positions to be filled by 3 vowels -so by direct counting 4 x 3 x 2 remaining 5 positions are occupied by the 5 alphabets in 5! ways

=> 5! x 4!

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used

Senior Manager

Joined: 13 Mar 2007

Posts: 361

Schools:MIT Sloan

Re: In how many ways can the letters of the word "COMPUTER" be arranged? [#permalink]

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used
  25 Jun 2007, 13:33

1) 8! 2) 7! 3) 6! x 3! 4) 8! - [6! x 3!]

5) 4! x [4x3x2]

Intern

Joined: 17 Apr 2007

Posts: 25

Re: In how many ways can the letters of the word "COMPUTER" be arranged? [#permalink]

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used
  26 Jun 2007, 08:53

Thank you. somehow i can't be sure of my answers, when it comes to arrangement possibilities or probability calculation. Though i got first 4 correct here

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used

Manager

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used

Joined: 28 Aug 2006

Posts: 64

Re: In how many ways can the letters of the word "COMPUTER" be arranged? [#permalink]

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used
  26 Jun 2007, 11:00

4) All the vowels are never together

Does this mean, they are all seperate? If thats the questions, then asnwer is 4! 5P3 ways

Manager

Joined: 13 May 2011

Posts: 154

WE 1: IT 1 Yr

WE 2: Supply Chain 5 Yrs

Re: In how many ways can the letters of the word "COMPUTER" be arranged? [#permalink]

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used
  14 Dec 2011, 10:43

Can someone check for 4 and 5: i keep getting4: 5!*6p3=2400

5. 720*4=2880

Manager

Joined: 25 Nov 2011

Posts: 129

Location: India

Concentration: Technology, General Management

GPA: 3.95

WE:Information Technology (Computer Software)

Re: In how many ways can the letters of the word "COMPUTER" be arranged? [#permalink]

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used
  19 Feb 2012, 03:07

BDSunDevil wrote:

Can someone check for 4 and 5: i keep getting4: 5!*6p3=2400

5. 720*4=2880

4) All the vowels are never together.This is equivalent to (All possibilities - All the vowels are ALWAYS together) = 8! - 6!3!5) Vowels occupy the even positions.let us consider the following: first 3 vowels placing together in even positions:-O-U-E---O---U-E---O-U-ELike this, at any point in time we have 4 positions to fill with 3 letters. Hence no. of ways will be 4P3 = 4!Remaining 5 positions can be filled by 5!Hence total ways = 4! x 5!

Hope this is clear. (if you like, give me kudos, please

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used
)

Intern

Joined: 03 Oct 2009

Posts: 40

Re: In how many ways can the letters of the word "COMPUTER" be arranged? [#permalink]

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used
  19 Feb 2012, 18:33

4. All the vowels are never together:I did this - 3 vowels and 5 non-vowels.number of ways to arrange 5 non-vowels = 5! (represented by | below).-|-|-|-|-|-Now there are 6 places (represented by -) that vowels can occupy so that they are not together.Number of ways vowels can be arranged = 6P3 = 120total number of ways = 120 * 5! = 14400.

What am i doing wrong?

Manager

Joined: 25 Nov 2011

Posts: 129

Location: India

Concentration: Technology, General Management

GPA: 3.95

WE:Information Technology (Computer Software)

Re: In how many ways can the letters of the word "COMPUTER" be arranged? [#permalink]

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used
  19 Feb 2012, 20:24

Apex231 wrote:

4. All the vowels are never together:I did this - 3 vowels and 5 non-vowels.number of ways to arrange 5 non-vowels = 5! (represented by | below).-|-|-|-|-|-Now there are 6 places (represented by -) that vowels can occupy so that they are not together.Number of ways vowels can be arranged = 6P3 = 120total number of ways = 120 * 5! = 14400.

What am i doing wrong?

Question says "ALL the vowels not together". So, you have excluded valid cases like COMPTUER, CMPOUTER

One thing: it is generally a good practice to find the probability of something to occur and then subtract it from 1 to find for the same thing to not occur. This way, we don;t commit above mistakes.

Kudos please, if this is clear

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used

Intern

Joined: 17 Jan 2012

Posts: 40

Re: In how many ways can the letters of the word "COMPUTER" be arranged? [#permalink]

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used
  19 Feb 2012, 23:43

1. 8!2. 7!3. 6! x 64. 8! - (6!x6)

5. 5! x (4C3)

Math Expert

Joined: 02 Sep 2009

Posts: 87856

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used

Re: In how many ways can the letters of the word "COMPUTER" be arranged? [#permalink]

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used
  19 Feb 2012, 23:46

docabuzar wrote:

1. 8!2. 7!3. 6! x 64. 8! - (6!x6)

5. 5! x (4C3)

Answer for question #5 is not correct, it should be 5!*4!. Check the solutions above and ask if anything remains unclear. _________________

Intern

Joined: 17 Jan 2012

Posts: 40

Re: In how many ways can the letters of the word "COMPUTER" be arranged? [#permalink]

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used
  20 Feb 2012, 12:40

Bunuel wrote:

docabuzar wrote:

1. 8!2. 7!3. 6! x 64. 8! - (6!x6)

5. 5! x (4C3)

Answer for question #5 is not correct, it should be 5!*4!. Check the solutions above and ask if anything remains unclear.

Thanks for correction.I intended to write 5! x (4P3) => 5! x 4!

I m worried, the time pressure never ceases to cause such mistakes!

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used

Intern

Joined: 03 Aug 2012

Posts: 1

Location: India

Concentration: Technology, Healthcare

GPA: 3.65

WE:Project Management (Manufacturing)

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used

Re: In how many ways can the letters of the word "COMPUTER" be arranged? [#permalink]

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used
  10 Sep 2016, 22:46

For the 5th question-There are 8 available places in the word COMPUTER. 5 Consonants and 3 Vowels.First choose 4 consonants to be filled in 4 odd positions in 5P4 ways = 120Then 4 balance alphabets, including the vowels, can be filled in 4 even positions in 4! ways = 24Total number of ways = 120*24 = 2880. _________________

Hope this helps.

You'll never know unless you try

VP

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used

Joined: 11 Aug 2020

Posts: 1385

In how many ways can the letters of the word "COMPUTER" be arranged? [#permalink]

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used
  29 Jan 2021, 15:18

COMPUTER is 8 distinct letters.a) No restrictions: 8! / (8 - 8)! = 8! b) M is in the third position: 7! / (7 - 7)! = 7!c) Vowels always together = 6! ( 6-6)! = 6! x 3!d) Vowels never together = 8! - 6! x 3!e) Vowels in even positions:4C3 = 4 < --- # of ways 3 spots can be chosen (Combination)3!/(3-3)! = 6 <--- # of ways 3 vowels can be arranged (Permutation)5!/(5-5)! = 120 <--- # of ways the remaining 5 letters are arranged (Permutation)120 x 24 = 2880 <--- # of ways you can get vowels in even positions. _________________

"Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one." - Bruce Lee

VP

Joined: 11 Aug 2020

Posts: 1385

Re: In how many ways can the letters of the word "COMPUTER" be arranged? [#permalink]

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used
  30 Jan 2021, 21:01

In how many ways can the letters of the word "COMPUTER" be arranged?1) Without any restrictions: 8! 2) M must always occur at the third place: 7! 3) All the vowels are together: 6! x 3! 4) All the vowels are never together: 8! ( 6! x 3!) 5) Vowels occupy the even positions: 5! x 3! _________________

"Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one." - Bruce Lee

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used

Non-Human User

Joined: 09 Sep 2013

Posts: 25685

Re: In how many ways can the letters of the word "COMPUTER" be arranged? [#permalink]

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used
  23 Feb 2022, 08:54

Hello from the GMAT Club BumpBot!Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email. _________________

How many ways can you arrange the letters in the word computer if only four of the letters are used

Re: In how many ways can the letters of the word "COMPUTER" be arranged? [#permalink]