Question 84652: If you are making a jam using 3 fruit and you have 10 fruits to choose from, how many different jams could you make?
Answer by rapaljer(4671)   (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! In this problem, the key word is "choose". When you "choose", usually the order is NOT important. Therefore, when the word "choose" is used, it almost ALWAYS means that it is a COMBINATION. (See the solution that I posted a few minutes ago explaining the difference between a COMBINATION and a PERMUTATION.
This will be a combination of 10 fruits, choosing 3 at a time, or a C(10,3). Again, most calculators will do this for you, but in case you need to do it without a calculator, you start out as with a permutation with 3 spaces:
Remember that with a permutation it will be:
P(10,3)= ___*___*___
P(10,3)= 10*9*8=720
Now, a combination is similar. Make 3 spaces.
C(10,3) = ___*___*___
What is different with a combination, is that you must ALSO divide by 3*2*1. It looks like this:
C(10,3) =  * * =
R^2 at SCC
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