Question

If you wanted to code 94 distinct characters, such as those found on a coputer keyboard, how many dots would the system need?

Answer 1

If I understand your question correctly,

using 1 dot -- 1 way
using 2 dots -- 2! or 2 ways
using 3 dots -- 3! or 6 ways
using 4 dots -- 4! or 24 ways
running total = 33
so we have to go to 5 dots, which would give us an extra 120 ways, enough to handle the 94 needed.