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How many ways can 9 people arrange themselves in a circle around a campfire?

1 Answer

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Answer:

Explanation:

8! = 40,320.

The round table implies we are interested in relative order. So if one person sits down, there are 8 choices who sits to their immediate left. Then 7 choices who sits to that person's immediate left. Then 6… etc.

Alternatively, you could say there are 9! absolute seating arrangements, but for any arrangement there are 9 rotations that are equivalent in terms of relative order. So that's 9/9 = 8

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