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Exercise 6.3 · Q4

Q.Find the number of 4-digit numbers that can be formed using the digits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 if no digit is repeated. How many of these will be even?

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We count all 4-digit permutations from 5 distinct digits, then restrict to even numbers by fixing the last digit. Total numbers = 5×4×3×2=1205 \times 4 \times 3 \times 2 = 120; even numbers = 2×4×3×2=482 \times 4 \times 3 \times 2 = 48.

The problem asks for two things: first, the total count of 4-digit numbers formed from the digits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 without repetition; second, how many of those are even. The key idea is that we are arranging a subset of distinct items — this is a permutation problem without repetition.

When no digit is repeated, each choice for a position reduces the pool for the next. For a 4-digit number, we have 4 positions to fill from 5 available digits. The order matters because 1234 and 4321 are different numbers. So we are counting permutations of 5 things taken 4 at a time, written as 5P4^5P_4 or P(5,4)P(5,4).

P(n,r)=n!(n−r)!=n×(n−1)×⋯×(n−r+1)P(n, r) = \frac{n!}{(n-r)!} = n \times (n-1) \times \cdots \times (n-r+1)

Here n=5n=5, r=4r=4, so P(5,4)=5×4×3×2=120P(5,4) = 5 \times 4 \times 3 \times 2 = 120.

Now for the even numbers part. A number is even if its last digit is even. Among the given digits, the even ones are 2 and 4. So we fix the units place first — that's the critical constraint.

  1. Fix the units digit. It must be either 2 or 4. That gives 2 choices for the last position.

  2. Fill the remaining three positions. After placing the units digit, we have 4 digits left (since no repetition). The first digit (thousands place) can be any of these 4. Then the hundreds place gets any of the remaining 3, and the tens place gets any of the remaining 2.

  3. Multiply the choices. By the multiplication principle:

    2×4×3×2=482 \times 4 \times 3 \times 2 = 48. …

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