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555-605 (Medium)|   Combinations|                        
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AbdurRakib
Clarissa will create her summer reading list by randomly choosing 4 books from the 10 books approved for summer reading. She will list the books in the order in which they are chosen. How many different lists are possible?

A. 6
B. 40
C. 210
D. 5,040
E. 151,200

Take the task of creating the reading list and break it into stages.


Stage 1: Select a book to read 1st
There are 10 books to choose from. So, we can complete stage 1 in 10 ways

Stage 2: Select a book to read 2nd
There are 9 books remaining to choose from (since we already chose a book in stage 1).
So, we can complete stage 2 in 9 ways

Stage 3: Select a book to read 3rd
There are 8 books remaining to choose from. So, we can complete stage 3 in 8 ways

Stage 4: Select a book to read 4th
There are 7 books remaining to choose from. So, we can complete stage 4 in 7 ways

By the Fundamental Counting Principle (FCP), we can complete all 4 stages (and thus create a reading list) in (10)(9)(8)(7) ways (= 5040 ways)

Answer:
Note: the FCP can be used to solve the MAJORITY of counting questions on the GMAT. So, be sure to learn it.

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AbdurRakib
Clarissa will create her summer reading list by randomly choosing 4 books from the 10 books approved for summer reading. She will list the books in the order in which they are chosen. How many different lists are possible?

A. 6
B. 40
C. 210
D. 5,040
E. 151,200

as the order is important here, so its a Permutation case. So arranging 4 books out of 10 books is
\(10_P_4\) = 5040

Option D
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AbdurRakib
Clarissa will create her summer reading list by randomly choosing 4 books from the 10 books approved for summer reading. She will list the books in the order in which they are chosen. How many different lists are possible?

A. 6
B. 40
C. 210
D. 5,040
E. 151,200


Since the order of the books in her list matters, we use permutation. Thus, the number of ways 4 books can be chosen and ordered from 10 books is 10P4 = 10!/(10-4)! = 10 x 9 x 8 x 7 = 5,040.

Answer: D
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Solution



Given:
    • Clarissa will choose 4 books from the 10 books.
    • She will list the books in the order in which they are chosen.

To find:
    • The number of different possible lists.
Approach and Working:

    • She is first selecting 4 books and then listing them.
    • This is same as selectin and then arrangement.
    o Hence, this a permutation question.
    • Thus, total ways= \(^{10}P_4\)= 5040.

Hence, option D is the correct answer.

Answer: D
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EgmatQuantExpert,

so if order didn't matter then the answer would be...10!/4!(10-4)! = 210??
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Hey ENEM,

Yes, if the order does not matter then the total ways will be 210.

You can actually read a lot on this topic in our Permutation and Combination article.

Here is the link of the article:Fool-proof method to Differentiate between Permutation & Combination Questions

Regards,
Ashutosh
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Here AB is not equal to BA because order matters.
Also, Repetition is not allowed so
Permutation formula will be applied. 10!/6! = 5040
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AbdurRakib
Clarissa will create her summer reading list by randomly choosing 4 books from the 10 books approved for summer reading. She will list the books in the order in which they are chosen. How many different lists are possible?

A. 6
B. 40
C. 210
D. 5,040
E. 151,200

Answer: Option D

Video solution by GMATinsight

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­Classic combinatorics we all know and love:

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is the only way to solving combinations and permutations is by manually multiplying the 10x9x8x7 and no other shortcut? because what if the question has a big number like 200!
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kaveree
is the only way to solving combinations and permutations is by manually multiplying the 10x9x8x7 and no other shortcut? because what if the question has a big number like 200!
They won't do that to you. The point of the GMAT is to cleverly solve problems, not do big calculations
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In case this is helpful for anyone else, I solved this question in 27 seconds by seeing that I only needed a 4 in the tens place and a 0 in the units place, and of all the answers, only D met that criteria.

Elaboration: 10 x 9 x (8x7) = 10 x 9 x 56 --> 6x9 = 54, so including the factor of ten, we know the answer will be a value with some number of digits before __40.
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Since, the questions asks for different list, the no. of empty spaces is 4 and total option available is 10. Hence, this is a permutation problem, simply doing 10*9*8*7=5040
AbdurRakib
Clarissa will create her summer reading list by randomly choosing 4 books from the 10 books approved for summer reading. She will list the books in the order in which they are chosen. How many different lists are possible?

A. 6
B. 40
C. 210
D. 5,040
E. 151,200
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