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.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.

4.A café sells ice cream in three flavours: vanilla, mango and pistachio. Isla buys a cone with two scoops, using two different flavours, one for the bottom scoop and one for the top scoop. Work out how many different cones she could buy.

5.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.

6.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.

7.Two-digit numbers are made using the digits 1, 2, 3 and 4, and no digit may be used twice in the same number. Work out how many different two-digit numbers can be made.

8.Five different books are placed in a row on a shelf. Work out how many different orders the five books can be placed in.

9.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.

10.A 3-character PIN starts with one letter chosen from A, B, C, D and E, followed by two different digits chosen from 1 to 9 (no digit may be used twice in the same PIN). Work out how many different PINs are possible.

11.A three-digit code is made using the digits 1, 2 and 3, and each digit may be used more than once. Work out how many different three-digit codes can be made.

12.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.

13.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.

14.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.

15.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.