How many ways can 4 different colored balls be arranged in a row?
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
How many ways can 4 different colored balls be arranged in a row?
24
16
12
8
The number of ways to arrange 4 different colored balls is 4! = 24.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
1 item
Q
Q: How many ways can 4 different colored balls be arranged in a row?
Solution: The number of ways to arrange 4 different colored balls is 4! = 24.
Steps: 6
Step 1: Understand that we have 4 different colored balls. Let's call them Ball A, Ball B, Ball C, and Ball D.
Step 2: Realize that when arranging these balls, the order matters. This means that Ball A in the first position and Ball B in the second position is different from Ball B in the first position and Ball A in the second position.
Step 3: To find the total number of arrangements, we use the factorial notation. The factorial of a number (n!) means multiplying that number by every whole number less than it down to 1.
Step 4: For 4 balls, we calculate 4! (which means 4 factorial). This is calculated as: 4! = 4 × 3 × 2 × 1.
Step 5: Perform the multiplication: 4 × 3 = 12, then 12 × 2 = 24, and finally 24 × 1 = 24.
Step 6: Conclude that there are 24 different ways to arrange the 4 different colored balls in a row.