[Math] Number of seven digit even numbers

combinatorics

How many seven – digit even numbers greater than $4,000,000$ can be formed using the digits $0,2,3,3,4,4,5$?

I have solved the question using different cases: when $4$ is at the first place and when $5$ is at the first place, then using constraints on last digit.

But is there a smarter way ?

Best Answer

I think considering the two different cases you mentioned separately is best. To avoid further case division, I'd proceed like this:

  • Case with leading digit 4: since an even digit has to go in the rightmost position, there are $5 \choose 3$ ways to choose the positions of the 3 odd numbers amongst the other 5 positions, then 3 ways to order them, and $3!$ ways to order the even numbers, for 180 total.

  • Case with leading digit 5: similarly, there are $5 \choose 2$ ways to choose the positions of the two odd digits (both 3's), only 1 way to order them, then $\frac{4!}{2}$ ways to order the even digits (dividing by 2 since there are 2 indistinguishable 4's), for 120 total.

So all up there are 300 such numbers.