Question 1205064
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Answer: <font color=red size=4>220</font>


Explanation


There are 12*11*10 = 1320 different permutations of 3 members if order mattered. On a committee without seat labels (eg: "president", "VP", etc) the order doesn't matter. We divide by 3! = 3*2*1 = 6 since this is the number of ways to rearrange a trio of people.


1320/6 = <font color=red>220</font> is the number of combinations of 3 people where order doesn't matter. A group like {A,B,C} is the same as {B, C, A}.


Another way to reach this answer is to use the nCr combination formula with n = 12 and r = 3.
Or you can look at Pascal's triangle. Look at the row that starts with 1,12,... and count 3 spots to the right to land on <font color=red>220</font>
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