Systematic listing and the product rule for counting worksheet — GCSE Higher

1.A car manufacturer offers a car in 6 colours and 4 trim levels. Two colour-and-trim combinations are not available: red with sport trim, and white with sport trim. Work out how many different colour-and-trim combinations are available.

2.A photography studio offers 4 backdrops and 3 outfits for a portrait session. The plain grey backdrop, one of the 4 backdrops, cannot be used with the formal suit outfit, one of the 3 outfits. Work out how many different backdrop-and-outfit combinations are possible.

3.Two-digit numbers are formed using the digits 2, 5, 7 and 8, and each digit may be used only once in a number. Work out how many of these two-digit numbers are even.

4.A florist has 5 different flowers. Freya picks 3 of them to make a small bunch, and the order in which she picks them does not matter. Work out how many different bunches she could make.

5.A driving instructor is working out how many current-style UK number plates are possible. The format is 2 letters, then 2 digits, then a space, then 3 letters (for example AB12 CDE). The letters I, O and Q are never used in any letter position, leaving 23 allowed letters, but every letter and every digit may repeat anywhere on the plate. Work out how many different number plates are possible, giving your answer in standard form to 2 significant figures.

6.Three-digit numbers are made using the digits 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 and 9. No digit may be used twice in the same number. Work out how many of these three-digit numbers are odd.

7.A board game has 5 different character pieces and 4 different colour tokens. The dragon piece can only be used with the gold token. Work out how many different combinations of one character piece and one colour token are possible.

8.A café offers sandwiches with one filling from 5 choices and one type of bread from 4 choices. Cheese and mustard, which is one of the 5 fillings, is not available on gluten-free bread, which is one of the 4 breads. Work out how many different sandwiches are possible.

9.A padlock code is formed from 3 different digits chosen from 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 (no digit may be used twice in the same code). Work out how many different codes can be made.

10.A café is planning its lunch menu. It will offer one soup from 3 choices and one sandwich from 4 choices, but the mushroom soup, one of the 3 soups, will only be served with the cheese sandwich, one of the 4 sandwiches, on a normal day. Work out how many different soup-and-sandwich combinations are available on a normal day.

11.A restaurant offers a lunch deal of one starter from 5 options, one main from 6 options and one dessert from 3 options. Work out how many different lunch deals are possible.

12.Two fair six-sided dice are rolled together. One die is red and the other is blue. Work out how many different outcomes are possible.

13.A vending machine sells 4 types of crisps, 5 types of chocolate bar and 2 types of drink. Work out how many different combinations of one crisp packet, one chocolate bar and one drink can be bought.

14.A netball team has 8 players. Two of them are chosen to be captains, and the two captains have equal standing. Work out how many different pairs of captains could be chosen.

15.A school council must choose a committee of 3 pupils from 8 volunteers. The three places on the committee are all the same, so only which pupils are chosen matters. Work out how many different committees could be formed.