If the three E's were colored difference, like this DEFENSE, the answer would be 7P7 or 7! since there are 7 letters. However, for example take the arrangement: SNEFEED If the E's were colored differently and we could tell the difference then we could rearrange the colored E's around and the following 6 would all be different: SNEFEED SNEFEED SNEFEED SNEFEED SNEFEED SNEFEED The reason there are 6 is because there are 3P3 = 3! ways the E's can be rearranged as above. So the answer 7! = 5040 is too large a numbee because every arrangement is counted 3! = 6 times too many. So we must divide 7! by 3! to get the correct answer. So the answer isEdwin