There are four cars entered into a pinewood derby race. In how many different orders can they cross the finish line?
4! = 24
24
To determine the number of different orders in which four cars can cross the finish line, we can use the concept of permutations.
The number of different orders, or permutations, can be calculated using the formula for permutations, which is n!, where n is the number of objects.
In this case, we have four cars, so n = 4.
Therefore, the number of different orders in which the four cars can finish the race is:
4! = 4 x 3 x 2 x 1 = 24.
So, there are 24 different orders in which the four cars can cross the finish line.
To calculate the number of different orders in which the four cars can cross the finish line, we need to use the concept of permutations.
In this case, we have four cars, so we have four positions to fill in first place, second place, third place, and fourth place.
The number of permutations can be calculated using the formula for factorial: n!, where n is the number of objects. The factorial of a number n is the product of all positive integers from 1 to n.
So, to find the number of different orders the four cars can cross the finish line, we calculate 4!:
4! = 4 x 3 x 2 x 1 = 24
Therefore, there are 24 different orders in which the four cars can cross the finish line.