At a conference table, 5 employees gather around a table

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M7MBA: Moderator; Posts: 2058; Joined: Sun Oct 29, 2017 4:24 amFollowed by: 5 members; Thanked: 1 times

by M7MBA » Mon Jul 02, 2018 1:25 am

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At a conference table, 5 employees gather around a table. One of the employees is the manager and he sits at the head of the table. Two of the employees sit on either side of the table. How many different seating arrangements can be made with these five employees?

(A) 5
(B) 10
(C) 24
(D) 32
(E) 120

The OA is C.

I've got confused with this PS question. Could anyone clarify this to me? Please, show me how can I get the correct answer.

Source: Beat The GMAT — Problem Solving | Mon Jul 02, 2018 1:25 am

Vincen: Legendary Member; Posts: 2898; Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2017 2:49 pmFollowed by: 5 members; Thanked: 6 times

by Vincen » Mon Jul 02, 2018 2:22 am

M7MBA wrote:At a conference table, 5 employees gather around a table. One of the employees is the manager and he sits at the head of the table. Two of the employees sit on either side of the table. How many different seating arrangements can be made with these five employees?

(A) 5
(B) 10
(C) 24
(D) 32
(E) 120

The OA is C.

I've got confused with this PS question. Could anyone clarify this to me? Please, show me how can I get the correct answer.

Hello M7MBA.

Here is how I would solve it.

There are 5 people, and one of them (the manager) must be sited in a fixed place, so he can be sited in 1 way.

So, we need to order 4 people in four seats. This can be done in 4! different ways, that is to say, 4!=24 different ways.

This is why the correct answer is the option C.

I hope it helps you.

GMAT/MBA Expert

Scott@TargetTestPrep: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 8246; Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2015 10:56 amFollowed by: 29 members; Location: Los Angeles, CA; Thanked: 43 times

by Scott@TargetTestPrep » Wed Jul 04, 2018 6:30 pm

M7MBA wrote:At a conference table, 5 employees gather around a table. One of the employees is the manager and he sits at the head of the table. Two of the employees sit on either side of the table. How many different seating arrangements can be made with these five employees?

(A) 5
(B) 10
(C) 24
(D) 32
(E) 120

Since the manager must sit at the head of the table, there are 4 chairs left. There are 4 choices for the first chair, 3 choices for the second, 2 choices for the third and 1 choice for the fourth. Therefore, the number of seating arrangement is:

4 x 3 x 2 x 1 = 4! = 24

Answer: C

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