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Re: GRE Math Challenge #12- Six people are asked to sit down in [#permalink]
GreenlightTestPrep wrote:
sandy wrote:
Six people are asked to sit down in a circle consisting of eight chairs.How many different ways are there to distribute the six people on the eight chairs?

Show: :: Answer
8!/ (8 * 2!) = 2,520


The basic idea here is that, for each possible arrangement, if EVERYONE moves 1 seat to the right, we have the same configuration.
Likewise, if EVERYONE moves 2 seats to the right, we have the same configuration.
Likewise, if EVERYONE moves 3 seats to the right, we have the same configuration.
.
.
.
Likewise, if EVERYONE moves 7 seats to the right, we have the same configuration.
So, one seating arrangement has 8 equivalent arrangements


At this point, let's NUMBER the 8 chairs as follows: #1, #2, #3, ..... #7 and #8
We'll call the six people A, B, C, D, E and F

Now seat each person.
We can place person A in one of 8 chairs
After that, we can place person B in one of the 7 remaining chairs
After that, we can place person C in one of the 6 remaining chairs
After that, we can place person D in one of the 5 remaining chairs
After that, we can place person E in one of the 4 remaining chairs
After that, we can place person F in one of the 3 remaining chairs

So, the number of arrangements = (8)(7)(6)(5)(4)(3)

HOWEVER, we're not quite done.
We have counted each equivalent seating 8 times
So, to account for this, we must divide (8)(7)(6)(5)(4)(3) by 8 to get: (8)(7)(6)(5)(4)(3)/8 = (7)(6)(5)(4)(3) = 2520

Cheers,
Brent


Hello Brent,

So, basically, when we apply the formula (n-1)! for n people to sit in n places in a circular arrangements, we are basically dividing the total arrangement n! by n?
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Re: GRE Math Challenge #12- Six people are asked to sit down in [#permalink]
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sj24 wrote:
Hello Brent,

So, basically, when we apply the formula (n-1)! for n people to sit in n places in a circular arrangements, we are basically dividing the total arrangement n! by n?


Yes, exactly!
n!/n = (n)(n-1)(n-2)...(3)(2)(1)/n = (n-1)(n-2)...(3)(2)(1) = (n-1)!
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Re: GRE Math Challenge #12- Six people are asked to sit down in [#permalink]
GreenlightTestPrep wrote:
sj24 wrote:
Hello Brent,

So, basically, when we apply the formula (n-1)! for n people to sit in n places in a circular arrangements, we are basically dividing the total arrangement n! by n?


Yes, exactly!
n!/n = (n)(n-1)(n-2)...(3)(2)(1)/n = (n-1)(n-2)...(3)(2)(1) = (n-1)!


Awesome! Thank you for this explanation.
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Re: GRE Math Challenge #12- Six people are asked to sit down in [#permalink]
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Why do we have to divide by 8 after getting 8*7*6*5*4*3 ?

B/C this type of question assumes that the only way of distinguishing where someone sits is by using the other chairs/people as reference points.

If that wasn't the case then we wouldn't have to divide by 8 at the end.

For example if we have 4 chairs and 4 people facing each other in a cross position where one chair faces north, the other south, east, and west. Then there would be 4! arrangement the 4 people could sit down b/c a person would be able to distinguish his sitting position based on what cardinal direction they are facing and not just based on using the other 3 people as reference points.
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Re: GRE Math Challenge #12- Six people are asked to sit down in [#permalink]
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chacinluis wrote:
Why do we have to divide by 8 after getting 8*7*6*5*4*3 ?

B/C this type of question assumes that the only way of distinguishing where someone sits is by using the other chairs/people as reference points.

If that wasn't the case then we wouldn't have to divide by 8 at the end.

For example if we have 4 chairs and 4 people facing each other in a cross position where one chair faces north, the other south, east, and west. Then there would be 4! arrangement the 4 people could sit down b/c a person would be able to distinguish his sitting position based on what cardinal direction they are facing and not just based on using the other 3 people as reference points.



I have the same question. Just because people are in a circle doesn't automatically imply to me that facing the West is the same as facing the North within the circle, even if the order going around the circle is the same. I think in a real GRE question, if they wanted us to make this assumption, they would specify they are asking only about the order of the people, but not the direction they are facing.
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Re: GRE Math Challenge #12- Six people are asked to sit down in [#permalink]
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Re: GRE Math Challenge #12- Six people are asked to sit down in [#permalink]
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