Importance of Permutation and Combination in JEE 

Rohan Mathew

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Permutation and combination is an important topic for the JEE Main exam. Students can expect 1-2 questions from this topic for the JEE Main exam. So students are advised to have a thorough understanding of the topic. They are recommended to have a proper preparation plan so that they can easily crack this exam. Practising mock tests and previous year question papers is one of the best ways to score high marks for this exam.

When the order does not matter, we say it is a combination. It is a permutation, when the order matters. Selecting items from a group of items, where the order of selection does not matter is called combination. Sometimes students get confused with permutations and combinations. Permutation deals with arranging items in a specific order. Both these terms are related to finding the number of different ways of arranging and selecting objects out of a given number of items, without actually listing them.

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General Formula for Combination

Combination is the number of ways an object can be selected from a group. We do not consider the order here. Items can be repeated. The general formula for combination is given by

nCr = n!/r!(n – r)!

Here n denotes the number of objects and r denotes the number of objects taken at that time.

General Formula for Permutation

Permutation is the arrangement of objects in a specific sequence or order and the order of arrangement matters. The general formula is given by

nPr = n!/(n-r)!

nPn = n!

Important Formulas

  • nCn = 1
  • nC0 = 1
  • nCn-r = nCr
  •  nCr +  nCr-1 =  n+1Cr

Let us have a look at an example.

Example: Find the number of ways can you allot 5 rooms to 3 men?

In this question, we can see the total 5 rooms are there. First man can select 1 among the 5 rooms available. Similarly the 2nd one will be left with 4 choices and the 3rd one will be having 3 choices.

Number of ways of allotting = 5 × 4 × 3 = 60 ways

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Problems On Permutation And Combination

Since permutation and combination is an important topic for the JEE Main and the JEE Advanced exam, candidates are recommended to practise a maximum number of previous year questions from this topic. A huge number of questions are available online. Students can easily download PDFs of previous year JEE question papers. They can also view and practise Problems on Permutation and Combination from BYJU’S website for free. The solutions are also available.Students can cross check their answers with the solutions prepared by the subject experts. This will help students to have an idea about their level of knowledge in the topic. Thus they can find out their weaker areas and give more concentration on those topics. Practicing mock tests and previous year question papers will help students to get a clear idea of the question pattern and difficulty level. It will also help them to reduce their exam stress and improve their confidence level.