Math Problem Statement
There are 10 students in a class, in how many ways can we group them in to 5 groups of 2?
Solution
To solve the problem of grouping 10 students into 5 groups of 2, we use the concept of combinations and division by repeated groupings.
Step-by-Step Solution:
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Total Number of Ways to Pair Up: First, calculate the number of ways to choose 2 students out of 10 for the first group. This is done using combinations:
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For the Next Groups: After selecting the first pair, 8 students remain. Now, we choose 2 out of these 8 for the second group: Repeating this process for the remaining students:
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Multiply All the Combinations: To find the total number of ways to form all the groups:
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Account for Group Indistinguishability: Since the order of the groups doesn’t matter, we must divide by the number of ways to arrange the 5 groups. There are ways to arrange 5 groups, and . Thus, the number of ways to group the students is:
Final Answer:
There are 945 ways to group 10 students into 5 groups of 2.
Would you like more details on this approach or have any questions?
Here are 5 related questions:
- How would the calculation change if the groups were distinguishable?
- What if we wanted to form unequal-sized groups?
- How does the number of groups affect the outcome in similar problems?
- Can you apply this logic to partition 12 students into 4 groups of 3?
- How does this problem relate to partition theory in combinatorics?
Tip: Always remember to adjust for overcounting when dealing with indistinguishable groups.
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Math Problem Analysis
Mathematical Concepts
Combinatorics
Permutations and Combinations
Formulas
Combination formula: C(n, r) = n! / [r!(n-r)!]
Factorial formula: n! = n × (n-1) × ... × 1
Theorems
Indistinguishable Groups Theorem
Suitable Grade Level
Grades 11-12
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