Skip to main content
OlympiadHQ

Browse · MATH

Print

jmc

counting and probability senior

Problem

Diane has one 1-cent stamp, two identical 2-cent stamps, and so on, up to nine identical 9-cent stamps. In how many different arrangements can Diane paste exactly 10 cents worth of postage in a row across the top of an envelope? (Note, however, that simply rotating or inverting a stamp, or exchanging the positions of two stamps with the same denomination should be considered the same arrangement.)
Solution
The 9 arrangements , , , use two stamps. The sets , , , each use three distinct stamps, and each one gives arrangements. The other sets which use three stamps are , , and , and each one gives 3 different arrangements. In total, there are arrangements which use 3 stamps. There are 24 arrangements of the stamps , 12 arrangements of , 6 arrangements of , and 4 arrangements of . In total, there are 46 ways to use 4 stamps to make 10 cents in postage. Altogether, there are arrangements of stamps which sum to 10 cents.
Final answer
88