Solution
Arranging MISSISSIPPI
Show the problem again
How many distinct arrangements are there of the letters in the word MISSISSIPPI?
Worked solution
The answer is 34,650. There are 11 letters: 1 M, 4 I's, 4 S's, 2 P's. Dividing 11! by the factorials of the repetition counts corrects for indistinguishable letters: 11!/(1! · 4! · 4! · 2!) = 39,916,800/1152 = 34,650.
Source: Standard multiset-permutation exercise found in introductory combinatorics texts. Statement written for AxiomIQ.