Question
upstudy study bank question image url

A classic counting problem is to determine the number of different ways that the letters of "occasionally" can be arranged. Find that number. If th that the letters will be in alphabetical order? The number of different ways that the letters of "occasionally" can be arranged is \( 29,937,600 \) (Type an integer or a simplified fraction.) The probability that the letters will appear in alphabetical order is (Type an integer or a simplified fraction.)

Ask by Reyes Hilton. in the United States
Feb 03,2025

Real Tutor Solution

Tutor-Verified Answer

Answer

The probability that the letters of "occasionally" will be in alphabetical order is \( \frac{1}{29,937,600} \).

Solution

Sign in to Unlock Answers for Free!

A Learning Platform Trusted by Millions of Real Students and Teachers.

star-icon Unlock

Reviewed and approved by the UpStudy tutoring team

The Deep Dive

To determine the number of different arrangements of the letters in "occasionally," we need to account for the fact that the word contains repeated letters. The letters are: o, c, c, a, s, i, o, n, a, l, l, y. Counting the repetitions, we have: - 2 'o's - 2 'c's - 2 'a's - 2 'l's Using the formula for permutations of a multiset: \[ \text{Total arrangements} = \frac{n!}{n_1! \cdot n_2! \cdot ... \cdot n_k!} \] \(n = 12\) (total letters), and \(n_1, n_2, ...\) are the frequencies of each letter. \[ = \frac{12!}{2! \times 2! \times 2! \times 2!} = \frac{479,001,600}{16} = 29,937,600. \] The probability of the letters being in alphabetical order is determined by considering that there is only one specific arrangement of the letters that represents alphabetical order (a, a, c, c, i, l, l, n, o, o, s, y) versus the total arrangements (29,937,600): \[ \text{Probability} = \frac{1}{29,937,600}. \]

Related Questions

Try Premium now!
Try Premium and ask Thoth AI unlimited math questions now!
Maybe later Go Premium
Study can be a real struggle
Why not UpStudy it?
Select your plan below
Premium

You can enjoy

Start now
  • Step-by-step explanations
  • 24/7 expert live tutors
  • Unlimited number of questions
  • No interruptions
  • Full access to Answer and Solution
  • Full Access to PDF Chat, UpStudy Chat, Browsing Chat
Basic

Totally free but limited

  • Limited Solution
Welcome to UpStudy!
Please sign in to continue the Thoth AI Chat journey
Continue with Email
Or continue with
By clicking “Sign in”, you agree to our Terms of Use & Privacy Policy