Permutation and combination

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Permutation and combination

by parveen110 » Sun Jan 26, 2014 3:55 am
In a plane there are 37 straight lines, of which 13 pass through the point A and 11 pass through the point B. Besides, no three lines pass through one point, no lines passes through both points A and B, no two are parallel. Then the number of intersection points the lines have is equal to:

a. 535
b. 476
c. 728
d. 601
e. None of these.
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by GMATGuruNY » Sun Jan 26, 2014 5:16 am
parveen110 wrote:In a plane there are 37 straight lines, of which 13 pass through the point A and 11 pass through the point B. Besides, no three lines pass through one point, no lines passes through both points A and B, no two are parallel. Then the number of intersection points the lines have is equal to:

a. 535
b. 476
c. 728
d. 601
e. None of these.
Let each line that passes through point A be known as an A line.
Let each line that passes through point B be known as a B line.
Let each line that passes through neither point A nor point B be known as an N line.

Since there 13 A lines, 11 B lines, and a total of 37 lines, the number of N lines = 37-13-11 = 13.

Case 1: An A line intersects with a B line
Number of options for the A line = 13.
Number of options for the B line = 11.
To combine these options, we multiply:
13*11 = 143.

Case 2: An N line intersects with an A or B line
Number options for the N line = 13.
Number of options for the A or B line = 13+11 = 24.
To combine these options, we multiply:
13*24 = 312.

Case 3: An N line intersects with another N line
Each PAIR of N lines will yield an intersection.
From the 13 N lines, the number of ways to choose 2 = 13C2 = (13*12)/(2*1) = 78.

Case 4: Points A and B
Points A and B constitute 2 more intersections.

Total intersections = 143+312+78+2 = 535.

The correct answer is A.
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