Combinations of students around 2 circular tables

combinatoricsdiscrete mathematics

I have a question:

Eleven students go to lunch. There are two circular tables in the dining hall, once can seat $7$ people, the other can hold $4$. In how many ways can the seats be arranged.

I have read this question multiple times to try to understand how to solve How many ways can $p+q$ people sit around $2$ circular tables – of sizes $p,q$?

I get that table 1 will have $p=6!$ permutations of students and table 2 will have $q=3!$ permutations of students and then there needs to be a permutation of how the students are arranged around the two tables. But what I don't understand is how in the formula $${𝑝+𝑞\choose p}(𝑝−1)!(𝑞−1)!$$ it is $P(11,7)$? Shouldn't it be $P(11, 4)$ because it is that there are $11$ options of people seated at table 1 and then $4$ options of people remaining to seat at table 2?

And is the answer then $P(11,7)\cdot6!\cdot3!$. The answer in the book is $P(11,7)\cdot3!/7$ which is different from the one I get from the above formula.

Best Answer

You probably know that $n$ people can be arranged on $(n-1)!$ around the table.

We first choose among $11$ people $7$ people for the first table and the rest go to the second table, that we can do on $${11\choose 7}$$ ways. Now we have to arrange choosen people around tables. For first one we have $6!$ ways and for second one $3!$ ways an thus $${11\choose 7}\cdot 6!\cdot 3!$$

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