Question
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Suppose we want to choose 4 letters, without replacement, from 17 distinct letters.
(If necessary, consult a list of formulas.)
(b) If the order of the choices is not relevant, how many ways can this be done?

Ask by Patel Marsh. in the United States
Mar 15,2025

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Answer

(a) There are 57,120 ways to choose 4 letters from 17 distinct letters when the order matters.
(b) There are 2,380 ways to choose 4 letters from 17 distinct letters when the order does not matter.

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Bonus Knowledge

To solve part (a), where order matters, we use permutations. The number of ways to choose 4 letters from 17 distinct letters is given by the formula for permutations:
Here, is 17 and is 4. Thus,
So, there are 57,120 ways to choose 4 letters if the order of the choices is relevant.
For part (b), where order does not matter, we use combinations. The number of ways to choose 4 letters from 17 is given by the formula for combinations:
Thus,
Therefore, there are 2,380 ways to choose 4 letters without caring about the order.

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