Permutation or Combination?

Choosing 3 snacks from a selection of 5

• Permutation

• Combination

Selecting 3 ice cream flavors from a list of 10

• Permutation

• Combination

Arranging 4 books on a shelf

• Permutation

• Combination

Selecting 5 students from a group of 8 to form a team

• Permutation

• Combination

Creating a password using 3 letters followed by 2 numbers

• Permutation

• Combination

Selecting a president, vice president, and secretary from a group of 10 members

• Permutation

• Combination

Choosing 6 pizza toppings from a list of 10

• Permutation

• Combination

Picking 3 finalists from 7 semi-finalists

• Permutation

• Combination

Which does NOT belong to the group?

• Creating passwords

• Making a cup of coffee

• Dialing phone numbers

• Playing the piano

Answer explanation

Your coffee is a combination of its ingredients. It doesn’t really matter in which order you’re adding and mixing the ingredients to make a perfect cup of coffee for yourself.