In mathematics there are two functions which are very similar named permutations and combinations. The numbers 1, 2, and 3 can be combined to make the following 6 permutations: 123 132 213 231 312 321. In a permutation the order of the numbers is important. Sometimes, the order isn't important, and mathematically all we wish to know was whether the values were combined in any order. In this special case there is only one combination for 1, 2, and 3, and this covers the six permutations above.
A combination lock is really a permutation lock because the order of the numbers is crucial to opening it. Similarly football team permutations are really combinations because the precise order of the eight draws does not matter.
