Analyzing the Inventory of Digits
Before we place a single digit, we must categorize our raw materials from the set {1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4,1}.
The Even Digits consist of two 2s and two 4s, totaling 4 digits.
The Odd Digits consist of three 1s and two 3s, totaling 5 digits.
The total count is 4+5=9 digits. The nine slots are divided into 4 even positions (2nd,4th,6th,8th) and 5 odd positions (1st,3rd,5th,7th,9th).
The Even Constraint
The problem dictates that even digits must occupy even positions. Since we have exactly 4 even digits and 4 even slots, every even position must be filled by an even digit.
To calculate the number of arrangements, we use the permutation formula for multisets, accounting for the identical 2s and 4s:
There are exactly 6 ways to arrange the even digits.
The Odd Arrangement
Next, we place the five odd digits (1,1,1,3,3) into the five remaining odd positions.
Again, we apply the multiset permutation formula to account for the repeated 1s and 3s:
There are exactly 10 ways to arrange the odd digits in their designated slots.
The Grand Synthesis
Because the arrangement of even digits and odd digits are independent tasks, we apply the Multiplication Principle to find the total number of valid 9-digit numbers.
The total number of valid arrangements is 60.