AoPS:

Introduction to
Counting &
Probability
 Chapter 1

Counting is Arithmetic
 Counting Lists of Numbers
Problem1.1
How many #s are in the list

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18?

Obviously there are 18 numbers. That was pretty

easy. The counting was done for us!
 Problem 1.2
How many #s are in the list
7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,
23,24,25,26,27,28,29?

In other words, how many #s are there between

7 and 29 inclusive? (include 7 & 29 in the count)
 Solution
A clever way to approach this problem is to
convert it to a problem like problem 1.1, by
subtracting 6 from every # in the list:
A clever way to approach this problem is to
convert it to a problem like problem 1.1, by
subtracting 6 from every # in the list:
7 8 9 … 29
-6 -6 -6 -6
1 2 3 … 23
 A clever way to approach this problem is to
convert it to a problem like problem 1.1, by
subtracting 6 from every # in the list:
7 8 9 … 29
-6 -6 -6 -6
1 2 3 … 23

You may notice that we found that there are 29-7+1

= 23 #s from 7 to 29, inclusive.
 Concept:
Given 2 positive #s, a and b, with b > a, find a
formula for how many #s there are between a
and b inclusive.
 Concept:
Given 2 positive #s, a and b, with b > a, find a
formula for how many #s there are between a
and b inclusive.
We can subtract a-1 from our list of #s from a
to b to get a list of #s starting at 1:
 Concept:
Given 2 positive #s, a and b, with b > a, find a
formula for how many #s there are between a
and b inclusive.
We can subtract a-1 from our list of #s from a
to b to get a list of #s starting at 1:
a a+1 a+2 . . . b
-(a-1) -(a-1) -(a-1) . . . -(a-1)
1 2 3 ...b–a+1
 Concept:
Given 2 positive #s, a and b, with b > a, find a
formula for how many #s there are between a
and b inclusive.
We can subtract a-1 from our list of #s from a
to b to get a list of #s starting at 1:
a a+1 a+2 . . . b
-(a-1) -(a-1) -(a-1) . . . -(a-1)
1 2 3 ...b–a+1
Our new list of #s has b – a + 1 numbers in it.
 Problem 1.3
How many multiples of 3 are between 62 and 215?
 Problem 1.3
How many multiples of 3 are between 62 and 215?

We see that 62/3 = 20 2/3, so the simplest

multiple of 3 is 3 X 21 = 63. Similarly, 215/3 =
71 2/3, so the largest multiple of 3 is 3 X 71 =
213.
 Problem 1.3
How many multiples of 3 are between 62 and 215?

We see that 62/3 = 20 2/3, so the simplest multiple

of 3 is 3 X 21 = 63. Similarly, 215/3 = 71 2/3, so
the largest multiple of 3 is 3 X 71 = 213.
So our list is 63,66,69, …,213.
Divide it by 3 to convert it to a list we know how to
count:
 Problem 1.3
How many multiples of 3 are between 62 and 215?

We see that 62/3 = 20 2/3, so the simplest multiple

of 3 is 3 X 21 = 63. Similarly, 215/3 = 71 2/3, so
the largest multiple of 3 is 3 X 71 = 213.
So our list is 63,66,69, …,213.
Divide it by 3 to convert it to a list we know how to
count:
21, 22, 23, . . . , 71.
We know how to count this list! Subtracting 20
from each number in the list gives
1, 2, 3, . . . , 51
We know how to count this list! Subtracting 20
from each number in the list gives
1, 2, 3, . . . , 51

DO NOT BE TEMPTED TO DO THIS:

215 – 62 = 153 = 51
3 3

IT DOESN’T ALWAYS WORK!

See the next problem
 Problem 1.4:
How many multiples of 10 are between 9 & 101?
How many multiples of 10 are between 11 & 103?
We know that 101-9 = 103 – 11 = 92, so shouldn’t
you get the same answers? Why aren’t they the
same?
 Problem 1.4:
List 1: the multiples of 10 are 10, 20, 30, …, 100,
so there are 10 multiples.
 Problem 1.4:
List 1: the multiples of 10 are 10, 20, 30, …, 100,
so there are 10 multiples.

List 2: the multiples of 10 are 20, 30, …, 100,

so there are 9 multiples.
 Problem 1.4:
List 1: the multiples of 10 are 10, 20, 30, …, 100,
so there are 10 multiples.

List 2: the multiples of 10 are 20, 30, …, 100,

so there are 9 multiples.
The shortcut doesn’t work:
101 – 9 = 103 – 11 = 92 = 9.2
10 10 10
So how would you know whether the answer is 9 or 10?
 Problem 1.5
How many 4-digit numbers are perfect cubes?
 Solution:
How many 4-digit numbers are perfect cubes?
The smallest 4-digit cube is 1000 = 10 3
 Solution:
How many 4-digit numbers are perfect cubes?
The smallest 4-digit cube is 1000 = 103
The largest 4-digit perfect cube is a little harder
to find and requires a little experimentation.
Start by noting 203 = 8000. By trial & error,
213 = 9261
223 = 10,648
So 9261 = 213 is the largest 4-digit cube & the list
is 1000, . . . , 9261.
 Solution:
There is a much better way that we can write this
list:
103, 113, 123, . . . , 203, 213

So the number of #s in the list is the same as

10, 11, 12, . . . , 20, 21
and that means there are 12 numbers in the list!
 Now it’s your turn!
1. How many numbers are in the list
36, 37, 38, …, 92, 93?
2. How many numbers are in the list
4, 6, 8, . . . , 128, 130?
3. How many numbers are in the list
-33, -28, -23, …, 52, 57?
 Solutions:
1. 58
2. Dividing each member of the list by 2, we get
2, 3, 4, …, 64,65, and then subtracting 1, we
get 1,2,3, …,63,64, so there are 64 numbers.
3. We could add 3 to each member in the list to
get -30,-25,-20,…,55,60, and divide by 5 to
get -6,-5,-4,…,11,12. Then using the integer
formula, we get 12 – (-6) + 1 = 19.
 Try some more!
4. How many numbers are in the list
147, 144, 141, . . . , 42, 39?
5. How many numbers are in the list
3 2/3, 4 1/3, 5, 5 2/3, …, 26 1/3, 27?
6. How many positive multiples of 7 are less
than 150?
 Solutions:
4. First, reverse the list, then divide by 3 to get
13, 14, …, 48, 49, so 49 – 13 + 1 = 37.
5. First multiply each number by 3 to get
11, 13, 15, …, 79, 81. Then we can subtract 1
and divide by 2 to get 5, 6, 7, …, 39, 40. So
we get 40 – 5 + 1 = 36.
6. 7 x 21 = 147 < 150 < 154 = 7 x 22, so 21
positive multiples of 7 are less than 150.
 OK, one last time!
7. How many perfect squares are between
50 and 250?
8. How many odd perfect squares are between
5 and 211?
9. How many sets of four consecutive positive
integers are there such that the product of the
four integers is less than 100,000?
 Solutions:
7. Since 72 < 50 < 82 and 152 < 250 < 162, the squares
between 50 & 250 are 82,92,102,…,152. So there are
15 – 8 + 1 = 8.
8. Since 12 < 5 < 32 and 132 < 211 < 152, we have the
list 32,52,72,…,132, which has the same # of
members as 3,5,7,…,13 which = 6.
9. Note that 174 = 83521 < 100,000 < 104,976 =18 4.
Since 17.54 ≈ 16 x 17 x 18 x 19, we check 16 x 17
x 18 x 19 = 93,024. Also 17 x 18 x 19 x 20 =
116,280, so 16 x 17 x 18 x 19 is the largest product
of 4 consec. pos. integers which is less than
100,000. So there are 16 sets.
Counting with Addition and Subtraction
Problem 1.6
At Northshore High School there are 12
players on the basketball team. All of the
players are taking at least one foreign language
class. The school offers only Spanish &
French as its foreign language classes. 8 of the
players are taking Spanish and 5 of the players
are taking both languages. How many players
are taking French?
 Solution:
The players taking French fall into 2 categories:
those who take Spanish and those who don’t.
The # of players taking French and Spanish = 5
(given in the problem).
 Solution:
The players taking French fall into 2 categories:
those who take Spanish and those who don’t.
The # of players taking French and Spanish = 5
(given in the problem).
Next count the # of players taking French but not
Spanish. There are 12 players on the team in
total, and 8 of them take Spanish, so there are
12 – 8 = 4 not taking Spanish. Since every
player must take at least one language, there are
4 taking French.
 Solution:
So the # of players taking French is the sum of
the # of players in each of the two categories,
5 + 4 = 9.

There is another way to solve this problem:

Draw a Venn Diagram. Use a Venn Diagram
whenever you wish to count things or people
which occur in two or three overlapping
groups.

See the next page.

Place points in the circles to represent the
players. A point that is in the French circle that
is not in the Spanish circle represents one
player taking French but not Spanish.
French Spanish
A point in the region that is in both circles
represents a player taking both languages.

French Spanish
A player taking Spanish but not French is
represented by a point inside the Spanish circle
but not French one.

French Spanish
Finally a point placed outside both circles
represents a player who is in neither class.

French Spanish
Now we can use the diagram to solve the
problem. Put 5 points in the intersection of both
circles because there are 5 players in both
classes.
French Spanish
Now, since there are 8 players taking Spanish,
and 5 points are already inside the Spanish circle
on the right, there must be 3 more points inside
the Spanish circle not in the French circle. Add 3.
French Spanish
Since we have 12 total points and we know
there aren’t any outside both circles, there must
be 4 left inside the French circle but not inside
the Spanish circle so add 4 points.
French Spanish
So now we can just read off the answer – there
are 9 points inside the French circle on the left.

French Spanish

4 5 3
 Problem 1.7
There are 27 cats at the pound. 14 of them are
short-haired. 11 of them are kittens. 5 of them are
long-haired adult cats. How many of them are
short-haired kittens?
 Solution:
Draw a Venn Diagram, with one circle for cats
with short hair and one circle for cats which are
kittens.
Which #s do we want to place in the regions?
Since 5 cats don’t have short hair & are not
kittens, we know there are 5 cats outside both
circles.
Short Hair Kittens

5
At this point we can’t immediately fill any of
the other numbers, because none of our #s
corresponds exactly to a region of the diagram.
For example, we know there are 11 kittens, but
there’s no single region of the diagram that
corresponds to “kittens”: there’s a region for
“short-haired kittens” and a region for “long-
haired kittens.” So were going to have to use a
little bit of thought. (Be very careful here)
The part of the right circle that does not intersect
with “short hair” must represent “long-haired
kittens.”

Short Hair Kittens

This is the
This region region that
represents represents
short-hair long-haired
kittens. kittens.

5
Introduce a variable x. Call the # of cats in one
of the regions inside the circles x and try to find
other regions in terms of x. Let the # of “short-
haired kittens” be x.
Short Hair Kittens

5
Since there are a total of 14 short-haired cats,
and x of them are kittens, we know that 14 – x of
them are not kittens. Then we have 11 – x kittens
that are not short-haired.
Short Hair Kittens

14 - x x 11 - x

5
There’s one more piece of information that we
haven’t used yet: the total # of cats = 27. So
everything must add up to 27:
(14 – x) + (11 – x) + x + 5 = 27
so x = 3
Short Hair Kittens

11 3 8

5
 You Try!
1. There are 20 cars in my building’s parking lot.
All of the cars are red or white. 12 of them are
red, 15 of them are 4 door, and 4 of them are 4
door and white. How many of the cars are 4
door and red?
Let the # of red 4-door cars be x. Since there are 12
red cars and 15 4-door cars, the # of red 2-door
cars is 12 – x, while the # of white 4-door cars is
15 – x.

Red 4-Door

12 - x x 15 - x

4
The sum of the # of red 4-door cars, red 2-door cars,
white 4-door cars, and white 2-door cars is the
total # of cars, 20, because each white 4-door car
is contained in exactly one of these categories.

Red 4-Door

12 - x x 15 - x

4
Since the number of white 2-doors is 4, we have
x + (12 – x) + (15 – x) + 4 = 20,
which makes x = 11.

Red 4-Door

12 - x x 15 - x

4
 Another one!
2. Going back to the 12-person basketball team,
all 12 players are taking at least one of biology
or chemistry. If 7 players are taking biology
and 2 are 2 players are taking both sciences,
how many players are taking chemistry?
 Going back to the 12-person basketball team,
all 12 players are taking at least one of biology
or chemistry. If 7 players are taking biology
and 2 are 2 players are taking both sciences,
how many players are taking chemistry?

Solution: 7 players are taking biology, so 12 – 7

= 5 players are not taking biology, which
means 5 players are taking chemistry alone.
Since 2 are taking both, 5 + 2 = 7 players
taking chemistry.
 Problem 3
There are 30 students in Mrs. Taylor’s
kindergarten class. If there are twice as many
students with blond hair as with blue eyes, 6
students with blond hair and blue eyes, and 3
students with neither blond hair nor blue eyes,
how many students have blue eyes?
 Solution:
Let the number of blue-eyed students be x, so
the # of blond students is 2x. Since the # of
blue-eyed blond students is 6, the # of blue-
eyed non-blond students is x – 6, while the #
of blond non-blue-eyed students is 2x – 6.
Since the # of non-blue-eyed non-blond students
is 3, we can add up these four exclusive
categories to sum to 30 students in the class. So
(x – 6) + (2x - 6) + 6 + 3 = 30 and x = 11.

Blue-eyed Blond

x-6 x 2x - 6

3
 Problem 4
At the Good-dog Obedience School, dogs can learn to do
3 tricks: sit, stay, and roll over. Of the dogs at the
school:

50 dogs can sit 17 dogs can sit & stay

29 dogs can stay 12 dogs can stay & roll over
34 dogs can roll over 18 can sit & roll over
9 dogs can do all three 9 dogs can do none
How many dogs are in the school? How many dogs can
do exactly 2 tricks?
 Sit
There are 9 dogs
9
that can do all 3
tricks and there are
9 dogs that can do
none.
9

Stay Roll Over

 Since 18 dogs can sit
Sit
and roll over (and
9
possibly stay) & 9
dogs can sit, stay, &
roll over, there are
18 – 9 = 9 dogs that
9 sit and roll over, but
9 not stay.

Stay Roll Over

 Using the same
Sit
reasoning, there are
9
12 – 9 = 3 dogs that
can stay and roll
over but not sit, and
17 – 9 = 8 dogs that
8 9 can sit & stay, but
9 not roll over.

Stay Roll Over

 So now we know
Sit how many can do
multiple tricks, &
9 exactly what tricks
24 they can do. Since 50
dogs can sit, 9 dogs
can sit & roll over
8 9
only, 8 dogs can sit &
9 stay only, & 9 dogs
can do all three
3 tricks, the remaining
dogs that can’t do
multiple tricks can
Stay Roll Over only sit, and there are
50 – 9 – 8 – 9 = 24.
 Sit
Using the same
9 reasoning, we find that
24 29 – 3 – 8 - 9 = 9 dogs
can only stay and
34 – 9 – 3 – 9 = 13
8 9
dogs can only roll
9 over.
9 13
3

Stay Roll Over

 Sit
Since 9 dogs can do
9 no tricks, we can add
24 each category in the
Venn Diagram to find
that there are a total of
8 9
9+9+3+8+24+13+9+9
9 = 84 dogs and
9 8 + 9 + 3 = 20 dogs
13
3 that can do exactly 2
tricks.

Stay Roll Over

 Problem 5
Every student in my school is in either French or
Spanish class or both. Let x be the number of
students in French class and y be the number of
students in Spanish class, and z be the number os
students in both classes. Find an expression in
x, y, and z for how many students there are in my
school.
 Solution:
Since x people are in French and z people are
in both, x – z are only in French. Similarly,
y – z are only in Spanish. Everyone in the
school is in either French only, Spanish only,
or both, so the total # of people in the school is
(x – z) + (y – z) + z = x + y + z.
 Counting Multiple Events
You have three shirts and four pairs of pants.
How many outfits consisting of one shirt and
one pair of pants can you make?
 Counting Multiple Events
You have three shirts and four pairs of pants.
How many outfits consisting of one shirt and
one pair of pants can you make?

Easy: 3 x 4 = 12 outfits.

You could also make a tree diagram, but you

already know how to do that!
 Concept:
We use multiplication to count a series of
independent events.

By independent, we mean that each decision

does not depend on the others.
 2 Example
nd

In how many ways can we form a license plate

if there are 7 characters, none of which is the
letter O, the first of which is a numeral digit
(0-9), the second of which is a letter, and the
remaining five of which can be either a digit or
a letter (but not the letter O)?
Each character is independent of any other.
There are 10 choices for the 1 st character (0-9),
25 choices for the 2nd character (A-Z except O),
and there are 35 choices for each of the other
five characters (any digit 0-9 or any letter A-Z,
except O.

Since the choices are independent, we have

10 x 25 x 35 x 35 x 35 x 35 x 35 = 10 x 25 x 35 5
= 13, 130, 468, 750.
 Arranging Things
In how many ways can I arrange four different
books on a shelf?
There are 4 choices for the 1 st book, with 3
books remaining. So there are 3 choices for the
2nd book, with 2 books remaining. Then there
are 2 choices for the 3rd book, with 1 book
remaining. So we have only 1 choice for the
last book.

4 x 3 x 2 x 1 = 24 choices for all four books.

What happens when choices are not
independent?
Your math club has 20 members. In how many
ways can it select a president, a vice-president,
and a treasurer if no member can hold more
than one office?
Once a student is chosen for president, he/she is not
available to be chosen for the other offices.

We have 20 choices for president, then 19 choices

left for vice-president, and last, 18 choices left for
treasurer.

Therefore, there are 20 x 19 x 18 = 6840

ways to fill the three offices.
The last 2 problems are examples of
permutations.
A permutation occurs whenever we have to
choose several items one at a time from a
larger groups of items.

In the 1st problem, we are asked to order four

different books. In the 2nd problem, we are
asked the # of permutations of 3 people out of
20 people, or how to fill 3 different slots from
a group of 20 people.
 Factorial!
We can order 4 different objects in 4! different
ways.
4! = 4 x 3 x 2 x 1 = 24 ways

Important: 0! means the # of ways to arrange 0

objects in a row. There is only one way to
arrange zero objects, do nothing. So
0! = 1
 Exercises:
1. For each of 8 colors, I have one shirt & one
tie of that color. How many shirt-and-tie
outfits can I make if I refuse to wear a shirt &
tie of the same color?
2. How many license plates consist of 3 letters,
followed by 2 even digits, followed by 2 odd
digits?
3. In how many ways can I stack 5 books on a
shelf?
 1. There are 8 options for the shirt and only 7
choices for the tie, or 8 x 7 = 56.
2. There are 26 choices of letters for each of
the 1st two spots & 10 choices of digits for
each of the next 3, for a total of 26 2 x 103 =
676,000.
3. There are 26 choices of letters for the 1 st 3
spots & 5 choices for each of the last 4 spots
(5 even or odd digits). 262 x 54 = 10, 985, 000.
 Exercises
4. Suppose I have 6 different books, 2 of which
are math books. In how many ways can I stack
my 6 books on a shelf if I want a math book
on both ends of the stack?
5. There are 8 sprinters in the Olympic 100-
meter finals. The gold medal goes to 1 st place,
silver to 2nd, and bronze to 3rd. In how many
ways can the medals be awarded?
4. Place the math books 1st. We have 2 choices
for the bottom book and 1 choice for the top
math book. Then we place the other four
books in the middle. There are 4 choices for
the 1st, 3 for the 2nd, 2 for the 3rd, and only 1 for
the 4th. So the total is 2 x 1 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1 =
48.
5. There are 8 possible sprinters for gold, then 7
left for silver, and last, 6 left for bronze, for
8 x 7 x 6 = 336 ways to award the medals.
 Compute each of the following:
6. 9! ÷ 8!

6. 42! ÷ 40!

6. 8! – 7!
6. 9 x 8! = 9
8!

7. 42 x 41 x 40! = 42 x 41 = 1722
40! 1

8. 8 x 7! – 7! = 7!(8 – 1) = 7! X 7 = 5040 x 7 =
35, 280
 Permutations
A club has n members, where n is a positive
integer. In how many ways can we choose r
different officers of the club (where r is a
positive integer, and r < n) such that no
member holds more than one office?
A club has n members, where n is a positive
integer. In how many ways can we choose r
different officers of the club (where r is a positive
integer, and r < n) such that no member holds
more than one office?

There are n choices for the 1st office, n – 1 for the

2nd, n – 2 for the 3rd, and so on. When we get to
the rth office, we’ve already chosen r – 1
members for the previous r – 1 offices, so we
have n – (r – 1) = n – r + 1.
 There is an easier way to write this:
The number of permutations of n objects taken r
at a time is
P(n,r) = n!
(n – r)!

P(30,3) = 30! = 30! = 30 x 29 x 28 x 27!

(30-3)! 27! 27!
= 30 x 29 x 28 = 25, 360
Slidell is running a lottery. In the lottery, 25
balls numbered 1 – 25 are placed in a bin. Four
balls are drawn one at a time & their #s are
recorded. The winning combination consists of
the four selected #s in the order they are
selected. How many winning combinations are
there if:
(a) each ball is discarded after it is removed?
(b) each ball is replaced in the bin after it is
removed & before the next ball is drawn?
(a) 25 choices for the 1st, 24 for the 2nd, 23 for
the 3rd, 22 for the 4th.
25 x 24 x 23 x 22 = 303,600

(b) 25 choices for each of the four balls, or

25 x 25 x 25 x 25 = 254 = 390, 625
The difference between these 2 examples is the
difference making selections without
replacement and with replacement.
 Review:
1. How many #s are in the list
2.5, 5.5, 8.5, 11.5, …, 80.5,83.5?
2. How many 3-digit #s are divisible by 7?
3. There are 20 people in the 7th grade school
band. 8 of them are left-handed. 15 of them
like jazz music. 2 of them are right-handed
and dislike jazz music. How many club
members are left-handed and like jazz music?
1. Add 0.5, then divide by 3 to get
1,2,3,4,…27,28 so there are 28 numbers.
2. 7 x 14 = 98 < 100 < 105 = 7 x 15 and
7 x 142 = 994 < 1000 < 1001= 7 x 143. That
means the list of 3-digit #s divisible by 7 is
105,112,…,994, and when we divide by 7,
we get the list 15,16,17,…,141,142 which has
142 – 15 + 1 = 128 numbers.
3. Let x = left-handed jazz lovers, then 8 – x =
left-handed people who dislike jazz and 15 – x
jazz lovers are right-handed. Since the # of
righty jazz dislikers = 2 and the total # of
members of the club = 20, we can add these
four exclusive regions to get x + (8 – x) +
(15 - x) + 2 = 20, so x = 5 (lefty jazz lovers).
4. How many 3-letter combinations can be formed
if the 2nd letter must be a vowel (a,e,i,o,u) and
the 3rd letter must be different from the 1 st
letter?
5. The local theater has one ticket window. In
how many ways can six people line up to buy a
ticket? (Source: MATHCOUNTS)
6. Our basketball team has 12 members, each of
whom can play any position. In how many
ways can we chose a starting lineup consisting
of a center, a power forward, a shooting
forward, a point guard, and a shooting guard?
4. There are 26 options for the 1 st letter, and only
5 options for the 2nd, and only 25 options for
the 3rd. This gives 26 x 5 x 25 = 3,250.
5. This is a permutation of 6 people = 6! = 720.
6. This is a permutation of 5 players being
chosen in order out of 12, so the answer is
P(12,5) = 12! = 12 x 11 x 10 x 9 x 8 x 7!
(12-5)! 7!
= 12 x 11 x 10 x 9 x 8
= 95, 040
 Challenge!
1. How many positive integers less than 500 can
be written as the sum of perfect cubes?
 Challenge!
1. 73 < 500 < 83, so a3 + b3 must be
1 ≤ a ≤ 7 and 1 ≤ b ≤ 7.
Make a chart of the sum of 2 cubes.
13 23 33 43 53 63 73

13 2 9 28 65 126 217 344

23 16 35 72 133 224 351
33 54 91 152 243 370
43 128 189 280 407
53 250 341 468
63 432 559
73There are 26 such numbers. 686
 Challenge #2
What is the greatest common factor of 5!, 10!,
and 15!?
 Challenge #2
Since 5! divides 10! and 15! and 5! has no factor
larger than 5!, and 5! is a factor of all three, the
answer is 5!.
 Challenge 3
What is the units digit of sum
1! + 2! + 3! + 4! + 5! + … + 1000!?
 Challenge 3
The units digit of 1! is 1, the units digit of 2!
is 2, the units digit of 3! is 6, the units digit of
4! = 24 is 4, the units digit of 5! = 120 is 0.
 Challenge 3
The units digit of 1! is 1, the units digit of 2!
is 2, the units digit of 3! is 6, the units digit of
4! = 24 is 4, the units digit of 5! = 120 is 0.

For all n ≥ 5, n! is a multiple of 5!, which is a

multiple of 10, so for all n ≥ 5, the units digit
of n! is 0.
 Challenge 3
The units digit of 1! is 1, the units digit of 2! is 2,
the units digit of 3! is 6, the units digit of 4! = 24 is
4, the units digit of 5! = 120 is 0.

For all n ≥ 5, n! is a multiple of 5!, which is a

multiple of 10, so for all n ≥ 5, the units digit of n!
is 0.

This means the units digit of the sum is…

1 + 2 + 6 + 4 + 0 + … + 0 = 13, so the answer is 3
 Challenge 4
How many of the factorials from 1! to 100!
are divisible 9?
 Challenge 4
To have a factor of 9, n! must have two
factors of 3. The 1st such n for which this is
true is 6, since 6! = 6 x 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1.
 Challenge 4
To have a factor of 9, n! must have two
factors of 3. The 1st such n for which this is
true is 6, since 6! = 6 x 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1.

Since 9 is a factor of 6! and 6! is a factor n!

for all n ≥ 6, the numbers 6!, 7!, 8!, …, 99!,
100! are all divisible by 9.
 Challenge 4
To have a factor of 9, n! must have two factors
of 3. The 1st such n for which this is true is 6,
since 6! = 6 x 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1.

Since 9 is a factor of 6! and 6! is a factor n! for

all n ≥ 6, the numbers 6!, 7!, 8!, …, 99!, 100! are
all divisible by 9.

There are 100 – 6 + 1 = 95 numbers in the list.

 Challenge 5
Which integers n satisfy
1 > 1 > 3
2 n 100
and how many such integers are there?
 Challenge 5
Multiplying the inequality by 100n, we get
50n > 100 > 3n.
 Challenge 5
Multiplying the inequality by 100n, we get
50n > 100 > 3n.

Since 50n > 100, n > 2 and 100 > 3n, 100/3 > n.
 Challenge 5
Multiplying the inequality by 100n, we get
50n > 100 > 3n.

Since 50n > 100, n > 2 and 100 > 3n, 100/3 > n.

The integers satisfying both inequalities are

3, 4, 5, …, 32, 33, and there 33 – 3 + 1 = 31.
 Challenge 6
My classroom has 11 rows of chairs, with 11
chairs in each row. The chairs in each row are
numbered from 1 – 11.
(a) How many chairs have odd numbers?
(b) Suppose we replaced 11 with n. Can you
find a formula in terms of n for the number of
chairs with odd numbers?
 Challenge 6
(a) Each row has odd-numbered chairs
1,3,5,7,9,11 for a total of 6 odd-numbered
chairs per row. Since there are 11 rows, there
are 6 x 11 = 66 chairs with odd numbers.
 Challenge 6
(b) There are 2 cases: n is odd, or n is even.
If n is odd, each row has odd-numbered chairs
1,3,5,…, n – 2, n.
 Challenge 6
(b) There are 2 cases: n is odd, or n is even.
If n is odd, each row has odd-numbered chairs
1,3,5,…, n – 2, n. Adding 1 and dividing by 2,
we get
1, 2, 3, …, n – 1, n + 1 .
2 2
 Challenge 6
(b) There are 2 cases: n is odd, or n is even.
If n is odd, each row has odd-numbered chairs
1,3,5,…, n – 2, n. Adding 1 and dividing by 2,
we get
1, 2, 3, …, n – 1, n + 1 .
2 2
So there are n + 1 odd numbered chairs in each row
2
times n rows, for a total of n(n + 1) .
2
 Challenge 6
(b) There are 2 cases: n is odd, or n is even.
If n is even, each row has odd-numbered chairs
1,3,5,…, n – 3, n - 1.
 Challenge 6
(b) There are 2 cases: n is odd, or n is even.
If n is even, each row has odd-numbered chairs
1,3,5,…, n – 3, n - 1. Adding 1 and dividing by
2, we get
1, 2, 3, …, n – 2, n .
2 2
 Challenge 6
(b) There are 2 cases: n is odd, or n is even.
If n is even, each row has odd-numbered chairs
1,3,5,…, n – 3, n - 1. Adding 1 and dividing by
2, we get
1, 2, 3, …, n – 2, n .
2 2
So there are n odd numbered chairs in each row
2
times n rows, for a total of n(n) = n2 .
2 2
 Challenge 7
We connect dots with toothpicks in a grid as
shown. If there are 10 horizontal toothpicks in
each row and 20 vertical toothpicks in each
column, how many total toothpicks are there?
. . ... .
. . ... .
... ... .. ..
. .
. . ... .
 Challenge 7
Notice that there are 21 rows of dots and 11
columns of dots. Since there are 20 vertical
toothpicks in each column, there are 20 x 11
= 220 vertical toothpicks.
. . ... .
. . ... .
... ... .. ..
. .
. . ... .
 Challenge 7
Similarly there are 10 horizontal toothpicks in
each row and 21 rows, for 21 x 10 = 210
vertical toothpicks.

. . ... .
. . ... .
... ... .. ..
. .
. . ... .
 Challenge 7
This gives a total of 220 + 210 = 430
toothpicks.

. . ... .
. . ... .
... ... .. ..
. .
. . ... .
Fini!