What is the science of analyzing small objects called ?
Aspects of combinatorics include counting the structures of a given kind and size ( enumerative combinatorics ) , deciding when certain criteria can be met , and constructing and analyzing objects meeting the criteria ( as in combinatorial designs and matroid theory ) , finding " largest " , " smallest " , or " optimal " objects ( extremal combinatorics and combinatorial optimization ) , and studying combinatorial structures arising in an algebraic context , or applying algebraic techniques to combinatorial problems ( algebraic combinatorics ) .