COMBIN Function (Functions in Excel)

Pool Of Items	Items In A Group	Possible Groups
4	2	6	=COMBIN(C4,D4)
4	3	4	=COMBIN(C5,D5)
26	2	325	=COMBIN(C6,D6)

What Does It Do ?

This function calculates the highest number of combinations available based upon

a fixed number of items.

The internal order of the combination does not matter, so AB is the  same as BA.

Syntax

=COMBIN(HowManyItems,GroupSize)

Formatting

No special formatting is required.

Example 1

This example calculates the possible number of pairs of letters available

from the four characters ABCD.

Total Characters	Group Size	Combinations
4	2	6	=COMBIN(C25,D25)

The proof !	The four letters :	ABCD
	Pair 1	AB
	Pair 2	AC
	Pair 3	AD
	Pair 4	BC
	Pair 5	BD
	Pair 6	CD

Example 2

A decorator is asked to design a colour scheme for a new office.

The decorator is given five colours to work with, but can only use three in any scheme.

How many colours schemes can be created ?

Available Colours	Colours Per Scheme	Totals Schemes
5	3	10	=COMBIN(C41,D41)

The colours
Red
Green
Blue
Yellow
Black
Scheme 1	Scheme 2	Scheme 3	Scheme 4	Scheme 5
Red	Red	Red	Red	Red
Green	Green	Green	Blue	Blue
Blue	Yellow	Black	Yellow	Black
Scheme 6	Scheme 7	Scheme 8	Scheme 9	Scheme 10
Green	Green	Green	Blue	??????
Blue	Blue	Yellow	Yellow
Yellow	Black	Black	Black

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