Question

For $3.98 you can get a salad, main course, and dessert at the cafeteria. If you have a choice of 4 different salads, 3 different main courses, and 6 different desserts, then how many different meals can you get for $3.98.

Answer 1

Since we have 4 different salads, 3 different main courses, and 6 different desserts, to calculate the total amount of combinations let's start by fixing 1 salad and 1 main course. If we have one salad and one main course, we have 6 different combinations(one with each different dessert). If we keep this choosen salad, we have 6 different combinations for each main courses, therefore, for each salad we have 6 times 3 combinations for each meal. Since we have 4 meals, we have 4 times 6 times 3 combinations in total.

The total amount of distinct combinations is given by the product of all quantities.

`4\cdot3\cdot6=72`

We have 72 differents meals for $3.98.