SOLUTION: Question: In a multiple-choice test wtih 5 questions, each question has 3 possible answers. What is the total number of ways the questions could be answered? I'm using a TI-8

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Question 9444: Question: In a multiple-choice test wtih 5 questions, each question has 3 possible answers. What is the total number of ways the questions could be answered?
I'm using a TI-83. I entered 5nCr3 and was given 10 as the answer, but this is too low. What am I doing wrong?

Answer by rapaljer(4671) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
This is NOT a combinations problem! It is the Fundamental Counting Principle, otherwise known as "the mn Rule." It says that if there are m ways that something can happen and for each of these possibilities there are n choices for something else to happen, then there are m*n possible outcomes, In this case, there are 5 questions with 3 choices each. That gives you 5*3 or 15 possible outcomes.

R^2 at SCC