In a race of 24 people, the top 8 are awarded different amounts of prize money, with first receiving the most, second receiving the next most, and so on. How many different ways can those top 8 runners finish?
Permutations and Combinations
If there are 5 dishes, they can be relished in any order at a time. In permutation, it should be in a particular order. In combination, the order does not matter. Take 3 letters a, b, and c. The possible ways of pairing any two letters are ab, bc, ac, ba, cb and ca. It is in a particular order. So, this can be called the permutation of a, b, and c. But if the order does not matter then ab is the same as ba. Similarly, bc is the same as cb and ac is the same as ca. Here the list has ab, bc, and ac alone. This can be called the combination of a, b, and c.
Counting Theory
The fundamental counting principle is a rule that is used to count the total number of possible outcomes in a given situation.
In a race of 24 people, the top 8 are awarded different amounts of prize money, with first receiving the most, second receiving the next most, and so on. How many different ways can those top 8 runners finish?
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