Question

Which expression represents the number of circular permutations of n things?

n!
(n - 1)!
n!/(n - 1)!

Answer 1

can be simplified as (n-1)!

The correct answer is the second option.

Answer 2

If these permutations were in a line, then the equation would be n!. But since we are dealing with a circle, it's a little bit different, given that there is no specific beginning or end. This means that you could rotate the circle around n different ways and still have the same circular permutation. Thus, this would be the expression you are looking for:

n!/n, which can be simplified as (n-1)!
The correct answer is the second option.