bill96251
There are 10 contenders in a karate competition, 5 in division A and 5 in division B. How many possible ways are there for the contenders to place 1st and 2nd in both divisions?
I know the answer is 400. Not sure how to get there?
This is the approach I used-
In counting questions when there are multiple events and we are required to find out the number of combinations,
'AND' implies MULTIPLICATION of the number of possibilities for each event
'OR' implies 'ADDITION' of the number of possibilities for each event
In this question, I understand that we are required to find the total number of possibilities for-
(Event A)- 1st and 2nd position in Division A AND (Event B)- 1st and 2nd position in Division B
Thus required: Number of possibilities for Event A * Number of possibilities for Event B
For Event A:
1st position: Any 1 of the 5 students can be 1st. Thus 5C1 ways= 5
AND
2nd Position: 1 student is 1st. Thus 4 remain. Number of ways one of the remaining 4 students will be second= 4C1=4
Total ways for Event A= 5*4= 20
Similarly number of ways for event B= 20
Thus total number of ways for both divisions= Event A and Event B= 20*20= 400

if this helped you

Also thanks, helped me revise the concept!