Sigma Percentile
JEE Main 2023 (31 January Shift 2)
LEVELJEE Main

Animated Solution for Mathematics - Permutations and Combinations: If , then is equal to:

Enter Numerical Value:

Visualized Solution

Analyze the Given Ratio

  • Given equation:
  • Our goal is to find the value of first, and then evaluate .

Recall the Permutation Formula

  • Recall the formula for permutations:
  • We will apply this to both the numerator and the denominator of our ratio.

Expand the Numerator

  • Numerator:
  • Simplifying the denominator:
  • So,

Expand the Denominator

  • Denominator:
  • Simplifying the denominator:
  • So,

Substitute Back into the Ratio

  • Substituting the expansions:
  • Rearranging the fractions:

Simplify the Factorials - Part One

  • Expand :
  • The term becomes .

Simplify the Factorials - Part Two

  • Expand :
  • The term becomes .

Cancel Common Terms

  • Equation after initial cancellation:
  • Cancelling from both numerator and denominator:

Cross Multiplication

  • Cross-multiplying:

Expand and Form Quadratic Equation

  • Expanding:
  • Rearranging terms:
  • Resulting Quadratic:

Solve the Quadratic Equation

  • Splitting the middle term:
  • Factoring by grouping:
  • Final factors:

Find the Valid Value of

  • Possible values: or
  • Since must be a positive integer in , we take .

Calculate the Final Expression

  • Substitute into :
  • Value
  • Value

The Sigma Insight: Factorial Notation

The Beauty of the Factorial Dance

Welcome, future engineer! Today, we are not just solving a math problem; we are embarking on a journey through the elegant world of permutations.
You have been presented with the ratio:
It looks intimidating, but in the JEE Advanced arena, complexity is often just a mask for a beautiful, hidden simplicity. Our mission is to unmask it.

Phase 1

Decoding the Permutation
First, let us ground ourselves in the fundamental definition. The permutation formula is our North Star:
When we apply this to our numerator, , we get:
Now, let us turn our attention to the denominator, . Applying the same logic:

Phase 2

The Art of Factorial Cancellation
Now, we assemble our pieces:
When we divide by a fraction, we multiply by its reciprocal:
This is where the magic happens. We use the "peeling" technique to expand the larger factorials until they match the smaller ones:
Substituting these back into our equation, the and terms cancel out perfectly:

Phase 3

The Quadratic Bridge
The in the numerator and the in the denominator cancel out (given $n eq 0$), leaving us with:
Cross-multiplying gives us:
Rearranging everything to one side, we arrive at the quadratic equation:
Solving this via the middle-term split:
This yields two roots: and . Since must be a positive integer, we discard the negative fraction and conclude that .

The Final Victory

The final step is to evaluate . Substituting :
You have navigated the permutations, mastered the factorials, and solved the quadratic. The final answer is 45.

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