Building a Burger
Pro Problems > Math > Statisics and Probabilities > Counting PrinciplesBuilding a Burger
I can have either mustard, ketchup, or relish for my burger. I can choose either swiss, Monterey, or cheddar cheese. I can choose either pickles, tomatoes, or lettuce. I can choose wheat bread or white (but I must have bread). I dislike the combination of mustard and swiss cheese. I like all other combinations, including combinations which include no cheese, condiments or veggies. How many combinations are there which I will like?
Solution
In order to make it feasible for teachers to use these problems in their classwork, no solutions are publicly visible, so students cannot simply look up the answers. If you would like to view the solutions to these problems, you must have a Virtual Classroom subscription.
Similar Problems
Thanksgiving Dinner
For Thanksgiving, I will have either have ham or turkey.
If I have turkey, I will have either potatoes or stuffing.
If I have ham, I will have either potatoes or rice.
If I have potatoes, I will have either green beans or peas.
If I have rice, I will have either peas or carrots.
If I have stuffing, I will have either carrots or green beans.
If I have green beans, I could have cranberry sauce with it.
If I don't have grean beans, I could have green bean casserole.
If I don't have peas, I can choose to have spinach.
For dessert I will have either ice cream or pie.
If I have ice cream, I could either have chocolate sauce or whipped topping on it, or put nothing on it.
If I have pie, I can choose mince, lemon meringue, cherry, or apple.
How many different ways could I have Thanksgiving Dinner?
Buttons and Levers
There are three buttons on a wall, each of which can be pressed or unpressed. There are four levers on the wall, and each of them can be either flipped up or down, or in a central position. How many possible arrangements of levers and buttons are there?
STOPS!
In how many different ways can the letters STOPS be arranged?
Guitar Pickin'
Owen is picking out random tunes on his guitar. He can play either half notes, quarter notes, or eighth notes. Each pluck can be one of the tones of the scale (C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B). If he wanted to play every possible three-note tune, and he could do one tune every 20 seconds, how many days would it take him to play all of them?
[No calculators, please]
Andy and Roger
Andy picks three letters from his name and arrange them on the table. Roger picks two letters from his name and arrange them. If Roger puts his two letters after Andy’s three letters, how many possible arrangements of five letters are there?
161 - Digits and Letters
In a basket I have slips of paper with several different digits on them. In another basket I have slips of paper with several different letters on them. If I reach into the first basket and pull out a number, and then reach into the second basket and pull out a letter, there are 161 possible results. How many letters of the alphabet are not in the second basket?
Borders
On an island with seven towns, one town borders on five of the other towns, three towns border on four other towns, two towns border on three other towns, and one town only borders one other town.
Every day postmen from each town walk to each of their borders and exchange a sack of mail with a postman from the neighboring town. How many such exchanges happen each day?
How Many Arrangements?
The number 5435 is made up of the digits 3, 4, and 5, with the 5 used two times. The numbers 3455 and 5534 are two examples of other ways to arrange these digits.
In how many ways can you arrange the digits?
Burgers and Condiments
Burger Heaven is the new restaurant in town, and they offer to make your burger however you want it, with the following possibilities:
- You can have your burger rare, medium rare, medium well, or well done.
- You can have it with cheddar cheese, monterey jack cheese, or no cheese.
- You can have it with or without mustard.
- You can have it with or without ketchup.
- You can have it with iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, or no lettuce.
- You can have it with pickles or without pickles.
Joan and Gene each order a burger. Joan says to the waiter, "I hate cheese, and I don't like romaine lettuce, but other than that, I'll take it however you feel like preparing it. Surprise me!"
Gene says to the waiter, "I want my burger well done, and with mustard and ketchup. Other than that, I don't care how it's prepared - surprise me!"
The waiter brings the two burgers on a tray. What is the total number of possibilities for what could be on the tray?
Tic Tac Toe Grid
Begin with a 3 x 3 grid, like the one used to play Tic Tac Toe. You have a blue square, a green square, and a red square, that you can place within the grid, according to the following rules:
- The green square must be touching the blue square on a side.
- The red square must be touching the green square on either a side or a vertex.
- No square can be placed on top of another square.
For example, the following arrangement is valid, because the green is horizontally connected to the blue square, and the red square is diagonally connected to the green square.
In how many different ways could the three squares be placed on the grid?
Blogs on This Site
Like us on Facebook to get updates about new resources