Final answer:
The total number of possible locker combinations is calculated by multiplying the number of choices for each of the three numbers in the combination (30 choices for each), resulting in 30 × 30 × 30, which equals 27,000 combinations.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question is asking for the number of possible combinations for a school locker when each number in the combination can be any number from 0 to 29, and the combination consists of 3 numbers. To calculate this, we'll use the fundamental counting principle which states that if there are n ways to perform one action, and m ways to perform another action after that, then there are n × m ways to perform both actions.
In this scenario, for each of the three numbers in the combination, there are 30 options (since we count from 0 to 29, inclusive). Therefore, the total number of combinations is:
30 (for the first number) × 30 (for the second number) × 30 (for the third number) = 27,000 possible combinations.
As we can see, the number of combinations increases rapidly when we have multiple choices for each part of the combination. This situation exemplifies how the fundamental counting principle allows us to systematically calculate the number of possible outcomes in scenarios where there are multiple choices.