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5 votes
If the police have 9 suspects how many different ways can they select 5 for a lineup

1 Answer

1 vote
Assuming the order does not matter, you want the number of combinations of 9 things taken 5 at a time. The combinations can be shown as C(9,5), 9C5.

C(9, 5) =
9/5(9-5) =
9*8*7*6*5 / 5*4

The 5 terms cancel.

9*8*7*6 / 4*3*2 =
9*7*2 =
126

The above change is because 4*2 cancels the 8 in the numerator and 6/3 = 2
Therefore, the solution is 126.
User Darrel
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