Question

As part of a board game, players choose 5 unique symbols from 9 different symbols to create their secret password. How many different ways can the players create a specific 5 symbol password?

Give your answer in simplest form.

Answer 1

Answer:15,120

Explanation:

Answer 2

`15,120`

Explanation:

For the first symbol, there are 9 options to choose from. Then 8, then 7, and so on. Since each player chooses 5 symbols, they will have a total of
`9\cdot 8 \cdot 7 \cdot 6\cdot 5=\boxed{15,120}` permutations possible. Since the order of which they choose them matters (as a different order would be a completely different password), it's unnecessary to divide by the number of ways you can rearrange 5 distinct symbols. Therefore, the desired answer is 15,120.