Does a monkey have a better chance of rearranging I I I L L N O S to spell I L L I N O I S or E E E E N N S S T to spell T E N N E S S E E ? Solution i i i l l n o s -> 3 i, 2 l, 1 n, 1 o, 1s e e e e n n s s t -> 4 e, 2 n, 2 s, 1 t total permutations for 1st set of letters = 8!/(3! x 2!) = 3360 number of ways to form I L L I N O I S = 3x2x1x2x1x1x1x1 = 12 probability of spelling I L L I N O I S = 12/ 3360 = 0.357% total permutations for 2nd set of letters = 9!/(4!x2!x2!) = 3780 number of ways to form T E N N E S S E E = 1x4x2x1x3x2x1x2x1 = 96 probability of spelling T E N N E S S E E = 96/3780 = 2.54% monkey has a better change of rearranging E E E E N N S S T to spell T E N N E S S E E.