Math Problem Statement

How many ways can we arrange five of the seven Harry Potter books on a shelf if Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets must be one of them?

Solution

To solve this problem, we need to determine how many ways we can arrange five out of the seven Harry Potter books on a shelf, with the condition that Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book 2) must be included.

Step 1: Fix Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Since "Chamber of Secrets" must be one of the five books, we can treat it as a fixed book in our selection.

Step 2: Choose 4 more books from the remaining 6

After selecting the "Chamber of Secrets," we need to choose 4 additional books from the remaining 6 books. The number of ways to choose 4 books from 6 is given by the combination formula: (64)=6!4!(64)!=6×52×1=15\binom{6}{4} = \frac{6!}{4!(6-4)!} = \frac{6 \times 5}{2 \times 1} = 15 So, there are 15 ways to choose 4 more books from the remaining 6.

Step 3: Arrange the 5 books

Once we have selected 5 books (including "Chamber of Secrets"), the number of ways to arrange these 5 books on a shelf is 5!5!: 5!=5×4×3×2×1=1205! = 5 \times 4 \times 3 \times 2 \times 1 = 120

Step 4: Calculate the total number of arrangements

Now, multiply the number of ways to choose the 4 additional books by the number of ways to arrange the 5 books: 15×120=180015 \times 120 = 1800

Final Answer:

There are 1,800 ways to arrange five of the seven Harry Potter books on a shelf if "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" must be one of them.

Do you have any questions or would you like further details?

Here are five related questions to consider:

  1. How would the result change if "Chamber of Secrets" was optional?
  2. How many ways are there to arrange all seven books on the shelf?
  3. What if two specific books (e.g., "Chamber of Secrets" and "Prisoner of Azkaban") must be included in the arrangement?
  4. How many ways can we arrange five books if no restrictions are placed on which ones must be included?
  5. How does the number of arrangements change if the order on the shelf doesn’t matter?

Tip: For problems involving "choosing" and "arranging," think about combinations when order doesn’t matter and permutations when order does!

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Math Problem Analysis

Mathematical Concepts

Combinatorics
Permutations
Combinations

Formulas

Combination formula: \(\binom{n}{r} = \frac{n!}{r!(n - r)!}\)
Permutation formula: \(n! = n \times (n-1) \times ... \times 1\)

Theorems

Fundamental principle of counting

Suitable Grade Level

Grades 9-12