BTGmoderatorDC wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 02, 2022 11:55 pm

A company plans to assign identification numbers to its employees. Each number is to consist of four different digits from 0 to 9, inclusive, except that the first digit cannot be 0. How many different identification numbers are possible?

(A) 3,024
(B) 4,536
(C) 5,040
(D) 9,000
(E) 10,000


OA B

Source: GMAT Prep

There are 9 choices for the first digit (1 through 9, inclusive). The second digit can be any of the 10 digits (0 through 9, inclusive) EXCEPT it can’t repeat the first digit; thus, there are 9 options for the second digit. The third digit can’t repeat either of the first two digits, so there are 8 options. Similarly, the fourth digit can’t repeat any of the first 3 digits, so there are 7 options. Thus, the total number of options is 9 x 9 x 8 x 7 = 4,536.

Answer: B