In how many ways can I arrange $3$ different math books and $4$ different history books on my bookshelf, if at least three of the history books are next to each other?
If three of the history books are together
They can occupy positions 123 and be arranged in 3! ways.....the other history book can occupy positions 5, 6 or7
And the other three math books can be arranged in 3! ways
So 3! * 3 * 3! = 108 ways
They can occupy positions 234 and be arranged in 3! ways.....the oher history book can occupy positions 6 or 7
And the three math books can be arranged in 3! ways
So 3! * 2 * 3! = 72 ways
And occupying positions 345 or 456 also produce 2 ( 72) arrangements =144
And occupying 567 also produces another 108 arrangements
So if three of the history books are together we have 2(108) +3(72) = 432 arrangements
If all 4 of the history books are together they can occupy positions
1 - 4
2 - 5
3 - 6
4 - 7
For each of these, they can be arranged in 4! ways and the other 3 math books can be arranged in 3! ways
So....if all are together, they can be arranged in 4 * 4! * 3! = 3456 ways
So....the total number of arrangements = 432 + 3456 = 3888 total arrangements