Question

Eight committee members are meeting in a room that has twelve chairs. In how many ways can they sit in the chairs

Answer 1

495 different ways

Explanation:

We will use the combination rule to solve this questions since it bothers selection. Combination has to do with selection.

If r objects are to be selected from n pool of objects, this can be done in nCr number of ways.

nCr = n!/(n-r)!r!

If there are Eight committee members meeting in a room that has twelve chairs, the number of ways they can sit in the chair can be done in 12C8 number of ways.

12C8 = 12!/(12-8)!8!

12C8 = 12!/4!8!

12C8 = 12*11*10*9*8!/4*3*2*8!

12C8 = 12*11*10*9/4*3*2

12C8 = 11*10*9/2

12C8 = 11*5*9

12C8 = 495

Hence the committee can sit in the chairs in 495 different ways