SOLUTION: Suppose a license plate contains two letters followed by three digits with the first digit not zero. How many different license plates can be printed?

A sample licence plate might be, say

         M K 7 5 7

There are 26 choices for a letter to go where the M is. 
(Any of the 26 letters.)

There are then 26 choices for a letter to go where the K is.
(Any of the 26 letters.)

There are then 9 choices for a digit to go where the first 7 is.
(Any of the other 9 digits besides 0.)

There are then 10 choices for a letter to go where the 5 is. 
(Any of the 10 digits, including 0.)

There are then 10 choices for a letter to go where the second 7 is.
(Any of the 10 digits, including 0.)

So we multiply all these together:



Edwin