Sigma Percentile
JEE Main 2025 (January)
LEVELJEE Main

Animated Solution for Mathematics - Permutations and Combinations: The number of ways, 5 boys and 4 girls can sit in a row so that either all the boys sit together or no two boys sit together, is

Enter Numerical Value:

Visualized Solution

Understanding the Problem

  • Total Boys: , Total Girls:
  • We have two distinct conditions connected by "OR".
  • Condition 1: All boys sit together.
  • Condition 2: No two boys sit together.
  • These cases are mutually exclusive, so we will add their results.

Case : All Boys Together

  • When items must be together, we use the String Method (or Tie Method).
  • We tie all boys together and treat them as single unit.
  • The girls remain as separate units.

Total Units to Arrange

  • Total units = (boys unit) + (girls) = units.
  • These units can be arranged in a row.

Arranging the Units

  • Number of ways to arrange units =
  • ways.

Internal Arrangement of Boys

  • The boys inside the "string" can also swap places with each other.
  • Number of ways to arrange boys internally = ways.

Total Ways for Case

  • By the Fundamental Principle of Counting, we multiply the independent arrangements.
  • Total ways for Case 1 =
  • ways.

Case : No Two Boys Together

  • When items must be separated, we use the Gap Method.
  • First, we arrange the other items (the girls) to create gaps.

Arranging the Girls

  • We have girls to arrange in a row.
  • Number of ways to arrange girls = ways.

Identifying the Gaps

  • The girls create spaces (gaps) around and between them.
  • Number of gaps = (Number of girls) +
  • Total gaps = gaps.

Placing Boys in Gaps

  • We have boys and exactly gaps.
  • Number of ways to place boys in gaps =
  • ways.

Total Ways for Case

  • Multiply the ways to arrange girls and the ways to place boys.
  • Total ways for Case 2 =
  • ways.

Final Calculation

  • The problem asks for Case 1 OR Case 2.
  • Total ways = (Ways in Case 1) + (Ways in Case 2)
  • Total ways =
  • Final Answer:

The Sigma Insight: Linear Permutations

Solution Diagram

Analyzing the Setup

We are tasked with arranging boys and girls in a row under two specific conditions: either all boys sit together, or no two boys sit together.
The word "OR" indicates that these two scenarios are mutually exclusive. We will calculate the number of arrangements for each case independently and then sum them to find the total.

Case 1

The String Method
When the condition is that all boys must sit together, we treat the boys as a single, inseparable unit.
Now, we have unit of boys and individual girls, totaling units to arrange. These units can be arranged in ways.
Within the "boy unit," the distinct boys can be arranged among themselves in ways. By the Fundamental Principle of Counting, the total arrangements for this case are:

Case 2

The Gap Method
When the condition is that no two boys sit together, we utilize the Gap Method. We first arrange the girls, which can be done in ways.
These girls create available gaps (one at each end and three between the girls). We must place the boys into these gaps.
The number of ways to arrange the boys in these gaps is . Multiplying these independent choices, we get:

The Final Synthesis

We have explored both mutually exclusive worlds. The first scenario yielded ways, and the second yielded ways.
To find the total number of valid arrangements, we add the results from both cases:
The total number of ways to arrange the group under the given conditions is .

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