Answer:
24 Combinations Total
Explanation:
METHOD 1 (no advanced math skills needed)
i. Number the friends: a, b, c, and d
ii. List all possible combinations...
- a b c d
- a b d c
- a c b d
- a c d b
- a d b c
- a d c b
- b a c d
- b a d c
- b c a d
- b c d a
- b d a c
- b d c a
- c a b d
- c a d b
- c b a d
- c b d a
- c d a b
- c d b a
- d a b c
- d a c b
- d b a c
- d b c a
- d c a b
- d c b a
To speed up the process instead of sitting here and listing 24 combinations, after two sections you can see that with friend "a" sitting all the way at the left there are six combinations and the same goes for friend "b". You can then multiply 6 (number of combinations with that friend first) and 4 (friends) to get 24.
METHOD 2
n! means the total number for permutations calculation (1 x 2 x ... until you reach n ) = 24