2013 AMC 12A Problems/Problem 15

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Problem

Rabbits Peter and Pauline have three offspring—Flopsie, Mopsie, and Cotton-tail. These five rabbits are to be distributed to four different pet stores so that no store gets both a parent and a child. It is not required that every store gets a rabbit. In how many different ways can this be done?

$\textbf{(A)} \ 96 \qquad  \textbf{(B)} \ 108 \qquad  \textbf{(C)} \ 156 \qquad  \textbf{(D)} \ 204 \qquad  \textbf{(E)} \ 372$

Solution

There are two possibilities regarding the parents.

1) Both are in the same store. In this case, we can treat them both as a single bunny, and they can go in any of the 4 stores. The 3 baby bunnies can go in any of the remaining 3 stores. There are $4 * 3^3 = 108$ combinations.

2) The two are in different stores. In this case, one can go in any of the 4 stores, and the other can go in any of the 3 remaining stores. The 3 baby bunnies can each go in any of the remaining 2 stores. There are $4 * 3 * 2^3 = 96$ combinations.

Adding up, we get $108 + 96 = 204$ combinations.

See also

2013 AMC 12A (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 14
Followed by
Problem 16
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All AMC 12 Problems and Solutions

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