A lock has a 3-number code made up of 23 numbers. If none of the numbers are allowed to repeat, how many different ways can you choose three different numbers in order for a unique code?Answer:
Q. A lock has a 3-number code made up of 23 numbers. If none of the numbers are allowed to repeat, how many different ways can you choose three different numbers in order for a unique code?Answer:
Calculate Permutations Formula: We need to calculate the number of ways to choose 3 different numbers from 23 without repetition for a lock code. This is a permutation problem because the order of the numbers matters.To calculate the number of permutations of n items taken r at a time without repetition, we use the formula:P(n,r)=(n−r)!n!In our case, n=23 (total numbers available) and r=3 (numbers to choose for the code).
Calculate Factorial of n: First, we calculate the factorial of n, which is 23! (23 factorial). However, we don't need to calculate the entire factorial. We only need to calculate the product of the first r terms of n, because the rest will cancel out when we divide by (n−r)!. So, we calculate 23×22×21.
Calculate Factorial of (n−r): Now, we calculate the factorial of (n−r), which is (23−3)! or 20!. Again, we don't need to calculate the entire factorial because it will cancel out with the terms in 23!.
Divide to Find Permutations: We divide the product of the first r terms of n by (n−r)! to get the number of permutations.P(23,3)=20!23×22×21Since 20! is in both the numerator and the denominator, they cancel each other out.P(23,3)=23×22×21
Perform Multiplication: We perform the multiplication to find the number of permutations. P(23,3)=23×22×21=10626
Final Result: We have found the number of different ways to choose three different numbers from 23 for a unique 3-number lock code without repeating any numbers.