# 9709 P5 Permutations and combinations Topic Questions > CIE IAL 9709 P5: every Permutations and combinations topic question from 49 papers (2020–2026), grouped by syllabus point. 170 questions, 506 marks, with… - Canonical HTML: https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p5/permutations-and-combinations/ - Markdown mirror: https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p5/permutations-and-combinations/index.md --- CIE IAL · Mathematics · 9709 P5 · A Level Every 9709 P5 Permutations and combinations topic question from the 2020–2027 syllabus, drawn from 49 papers (2020–2026) and grouped by syllabus point. Each row opens a page listing the exact question numbers, marks and a direct link into the paper. These are questions by topic, not full papers, so you can revise one topic at a time. - 9709 P5 - 2 subtopics - 170 topic questions - 49 papers - 506 tagged marks - [Back to Permutations and combinations](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p5/permutations-and-combinations/) - [All paper codes](https://www.examsci.com/topics/) Core finding **solve problems about arrangements of objects in a line, including… is the most frequently assessed subtopic in Permutations and combinations, with 105 topic questions and 293 marks across 49 papers.** understand the terms permutation and combination, and solve… follows with 68 topic questions and 221 marks. The topic contains 2 subtopics, 170 topic questions and 506 marks in total. Rows count only the parts tagged to that subtopic, keep the same colour in both charts and repeat paper count, tagged marks and year range in the native table. ## Topic question count and mark distribution Subtopics are on the vertical axis and sorted from highest to lowest. Only the parts whose knowledge graph matches a subtopic are counted for it, and percentages are each row's share of the tagged total in that chart. A part tagged to several subtopics is counted in each bar, so the bars are not a partition of the topic total. ### Questions by subtopic question items - [• solve problems about arrangements of objects in a line, including those involving – repetition (e.g. the number of ways of arranging the letters of the word ‘NEEDLESS’) – restriction (e.g. the number of ways several people can stand in a line if two particular people must, or must not, stand next to each other)](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p5/permutations-and-combinations/solve-problems-about-arrangements-of-objects-in-a-line-including-those-involving/) (49 papers) — 105 · 60.7% - [• understand the terms permutation and combination, and solve simple problems involving selections](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p5/permutations-and-combinations/understand-the-terms-permutation-and-combination-and-solve-simple-problems-involving/) (48 papers) — 68 · 39.3% ### Marks by subtopic marks - [• solve problems about arrangements of objects in a line, including those involving – repetition (e.g. the number of ways of arranging the letters of the word ‘NEEDLESS’) – restriction (e.g. the number of ways several people can stand in a line if two particular people must, or must not, stand next to each other)](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p5/permutations-and-combinations/solve-problems-about-arrangements-of-objects-in-a-line-including-those-involving/) (49 papers) — 293 · 57.0% - [• understand the terms permutation and combination, and solve simple problems involving selections](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p5/permutations-and-combinations/understand-the-terms-permutation-and-combination-and-solve-simple-problems-involving/) (48 papers) — 221 · 43.0% ## Subtopic comparison matrix Curriculum order is by syllabus number, then alphabetically. Every row links to the matching past-paper question list. | Subtopic | Topic questions | Papers | Marks | Years | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | **[• solve problems about arrangements of objects in a line, including those involving – repetition (e.g. the number of ways of arranging the letters of the word ‘NEEDLESS’) – restriction (e.g. the number of ways several people can stand in a line if two particular people must, or must not, stand next to each other)](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p5/permutations-and-combinations/solve-problems-about-arrangements-of-objects-in-a-line-including-those-involving/)** | 105 | 49 | 293 | 2020–2026 | [Open topic questions](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p5/permutations-and-combinations/solve-problems-about-arrangements-of-objects-in-a-line-including-those-involving/) | | **[• understand the terms permutation and combination, and solve simple problems involving selections](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p5/permutations-and-combinations/understand-the-terms-permutation-and-combination-and-solve-simple-problems-involving/)** | 68 | 48 | 221 | 2020–2026 | [Open topic questions](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p5/permutations-and-combinations/understand-the-terms-permutation-and-combination-and-solve-simple-problems-involving/) | ## Browse every topic question - [• solve problems about arrangements of objects in a line, including those involving – repetition (e.g. the number of ways of arranging the letters of the word ‘NEEDLESS’) – restriction (e.g. the number of ways several people can stand in a line if two particular people must, or must not, stand next to each other)](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p5/permutations-and-combinations/solve-problems-about-arrangements-of-objects-in-a-line-including-those-involving/) — 105 question items · 49 papers — 293 marks · 2020–2026 - [• understand the terms permutation and combination, and solve simple problems involving selections](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p5/permutations-and-combinations/understand-the-terms-permutation-and-combination-and-solve-simple-problems-involving/) — 68 question items · 48 papers — 221 marks · 2020–2026 ## Other topics in 9709 P5 - [Discrete random variables 229 question items](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p5/discrete-random-variables/) - [Probability 199 question items](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p5/probability/) - [Representation of data 167 question items](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p5/representation-of-data/) - [The normal distribution 148 question items](https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p5/the-normal-distribution/) ## Topic question rules and edge cases **How many subtopics does Permutations and combinations contain?** This page lists 2 subtopics tagged to the current syllabus. They are ordered by syllabus number, then alphabetically, and each row opens a page of matching past-paper questions. **How are the subtopic question and mark totals calculated?** A multiple-choice question contributes one item and its marks to every subtopic it is tagged with. A structured question contributes one item per tagged part, and that part’s marks; untagged parts of the same question are not counted here. A part tagged to several subtopics therefore appears under each of them. **Why do some subtopics have no numbered prefix?** Practical-skills statements and some syllabus bullets are unnumbered. Numbered statements come first; unnumbered statements and ties are sorted alphabetically. **Is the LaTeX rendered without JavaScript?** Yes. Subtopics that contain formulas are converted to static KaTeX HTML during the build, and the KaTeX stylesheet is served from the same site. --- Full page with native tables, bar charts and Practice Hub links: https://www.examsci.com/topics/cie-ial/mathematics/9709-p5/permutations-and-combinations/