Answer:
209,227,898,880
Explanation:
AI-generated answer
To find the number of orders in which all 8 teams can finish the race, we can use the concept of permutations.
In a three-legged race, each team consists of two people. Since there are 8 teams, we have a total of 16 participants.
To determine the number of orders, we need to find the number of ways we can arrange these 16 participants.
The first participant can be any one of the 16. Once the first participant is chosen, the second participant can be any one of the remaining 15. For the third participant, there are 14 options, and so on.
Using the formula for permutations, we can calculate the number of orders:
16 × 15 × 14 × 13 × 12 × 11 × 10 × 9
This simplifies to:
209,227,898,880
Therefore, there are 209,227,898,880 possible orders in which all 8 teams can finish the race.
It's important to note that this calculation assumes that each team is unique and can be distinguished from the others. If the teams are identical and indistinguishable, the calculation would be different.