Objects  Distinct  Distinct ​ Groups  Distinct  Identical ​ Objects  Identical  Identical ​ Groups  Identical  Distinct ​Description of Situation Here, 5 distinct balls are distributed amongst 3 persons so that each gets at least one ball. i.e. Distinct → DistinctSo, we should make casesCase I  A 1​B1​C2​} Case II A1​B2​C2​}Number of ways to distribute 5 balls=(5C1​⋅4C1​⋅3C3​×2!3!​)+(5C1​⋅4C2​⋅2C2​×2!3!​)=60+90=150​