If n is the number of ways five different employees can sit into four indistinguishable offices where any office may have any number of persons including zero, then n is equal to :
- 47
- 53
- 51
- 43
Answer
(3) 51
Solution
Offices identical ⇒ only the grouping of the 5 persons matters (at most 4 groups)
(5): 1; (4, 1): 5C4=5; (3, 2): 5C3=10
(3, 1, 1): 5C3=10; (2, 2, 1): 5!2! 2! 1! 2!=15; (2, 1, 1, 1): 5C2=10
∵ equal-sized groups are not ordered (offices look alike), divide by 2! for the two pairs
n=1+5+10+10+15+10=51
Answer: (3)