Q. Luis is packing a bag for vacation. He has 9 unique shirts, but he can only fit 5 in his bag.How many different groups of 5 shirts can he take?
Identify Problem Type: Identify the type of problem.We need to determine the number of combinations of 5 shirts that can be chosen from a set of 9 unique shirts. This is a combinatorics problem, specifically a combination problem where order does not matter.
Use Combination Formula: Use the combination formula to calculate the number of different groups.The formula for combinations is C(n,k)=k!(n−k)!n!, where n is the total number of items, k is the number of items to choose, and “!” denotes factorial.For this problem, n=9 (total unique shirts) and k=5 (shirts to fit in the bag).
Calculate Factorial of n: Calculate the factorial of n, which is 9!.9!=9×8×7×6×5×4×3×2×1=362,880
Calculate Factorial of k: Calculate the factorial of k, which is 5!.5!=5×4×3×2×1=120
Calculate Factorial of (n−k): Calculate the factorial of (n−k), which is (9−5)!.(9−5)!=4!=4×3×2×1=24
Substitute into Formula: Substitute the factorials into the combination formula to find the number of combinations. C(9,5)=5!(9−5)!9!=120×24362,880
Perform Calculations: Perform the calculations.C(9,5)=120×24362,880=2,880362,880=126
Verify Calculations: Verify the calculations to ensure there are no math errors.Rechecking the calculations: 362,880/2,880=126. There are no math errors in the calculations.