Final answer:
The number of sample points in the sample space for the 8 finalists in a regional spelling bee can be determined using permutations. The number of possible orders for all 8 finalists is 40,320. The number of possible orders for the first 3 positions is 56.
Step-by-step explanation:
The number of sample points in a sample space can be found by using the concept of permutations. In this case, for the 8 finalists in the regional spelling bee, we need to determine the number of possible orders at the conclusion of the contest.
a. To find the number of possible orders for all 8 finalists, we can use the concept of factorial. There are 8 finalists in total, so the number of sample points in the sample space is 8 factorial (8!). This can be calculated as:
8! = 8 * 7 * 6 * 5 * 4 * 3 * 2 * 1 = 40,320
Therefore, there are 40,320 possible orders for all 8 finalists in the regional spelling bee.
b. To find the number of possible orders for the first 3 positions, we can again use the concept of factorial. There are 8 finalists in total, but we only need to consider the first 3 positions. Thus, the number of sample points in the sample space is 8 choose 3, which can be calculated as:
8 choose 3 = 8! / (3! * (8-3)!) = 8! / (3! * 5!) = 8 * 7 * 6 / (3 * 2 * 1) = 56
Therefore, there are 56 possible orders for the first 3 positions in the regional spelling bee.