SOLUTION: Please help..Decide whether you would use a permutation, a combination, or neither. Next, write the solution using permutation notation or combination notation, if possible, and, f

Algebra ->  Permutations -> SOLUTION: Please help..Decide whether you would use a permutation, a combination, or neither. Next, write the solution using permutation notation or combination notation, if possible, and, f      Log On


   



Question 892592: Please help..Decide whether you would use a permutation, a combination, or neither. Next, write the solution using permutation notation or combination notation, if possible, and, finally, answer the question.
A club with 30 members is to select five officers (president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and historian). In how many ways can this be done?

Answer by Edwin McCravy(20055) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Remember C stands for "Collecting" and P stands for "Positioning".

Also C stands for "Combinations" and P stands for "Permutations".

So ask this question:

Q:  After selecting the 5 people, are we only COLLECTING them, or are we 
POSITIONING them?

A:  Since "president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and historian"
are POSITIONS, we are POSITIONING them.  So we use permutations.

So the notation is:

30 members, POSITION 5 

and the notation is 

30P5 or P(30,5) or 30P5 or %28matrix%282%2C1%2C30%2C5%29%29,
depending on which notation your teacher uses.  

Formula:  Start with 30 and use 5 factors, each factor 1 less than 
the previous one:

Solution:  30×29×28×27×26 = 17100720

Edwin