How many ways can 4 men and 4 women stand in a line if the women and men alternate ? How many ways can 4 men and 4 women stand in a line if no two women are together ?

Raina Gomez

Raina Gomez

Answered question

2022-09-20

How many ways can 4 men and 4 women stand in a line if the women and men alternate ?
How many ways can 4 men and 4 women stand in a line if no two women are together ?

Answer & Explanation

Kellen Blackburn

Kellen Blackburn

Beginner2022-09-21Added 8 answers

In the first point, the problems are different because the second problem would allow e.g. WMW*MM*WMW while the first would not. (The first is essentially saying "no two women are together and no two men are together", while the second only says "no two women are together".)
Marcelo Maxwell

Marcelo Maxwell

Beginner2022-09-22Added 2 answers

In the second point, two mistakes:
By multiplying by 21!, and by using 𝑃 instead of 𝐶, you're assuming you can tell the difference beween the white balls, and can tell the difference between the black balls. (i.e. B1 B2 W1 W2... is different from B2 B1 W1 W2...) Usually when dealing with balls, they're indistinguishable.
The answer The answer 24 C 3 (i.e. choosing any 3 balls out of the 24 to be black) would be incorrect because it doesn't exclude answers such as BWBBW... where two black balls appear next to each other. (i.e. choosing any 3 balls out of the 24 to be black) would be incorrect because it doesn't exclude answers such as BWBBW... where two black balls appear next to each other.

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