+470 How many ways are there to put 5 balls in 3 boxes if the balls are not distinguishable but the boxes are?
That is the question but I have been trying it and getting many different answers, can someone help?
+128408 As Melody says.....take my answers at your own peril, Mr. Owl
If we have no restictions, the number of ways is given by
C ( k + n - 1, n - 1) here k is the number of balls and n is the number of boxes
C ( 5 + 3 - 1 , 3 - 1)
C ( 7, 2) = 21 ways
If we have to have at least one ball in each box
C ( k - 1, n - 1)
C ( 5 - 1 , 3 - 1 )
C ( 4, 2) = 6 ways
BTW ......here's a website that will help you with these type of problems :
http://www.careerbless.com/aptitude/qa/permutations_combinations_imp7.php
