Claudia can choose any two of four different candles and any

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Claudia can choose any two of four different candles and any 8 of 9 different flowers for a centerpiece arrangement. Given these choices, how many candle + flower groupings can she select?

A. 54
B. 72
C. 96
D. 144
E. 432

[spoiler]OA=A[/spoiler]

Source: Magoosh

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by henilshaht » Sun Dec 15, 2019 8:44 am
There are 4 different candles and she has to choose 2 out of them.
So, total combinations = $$_4C_2$$ = 6

Similarly, she has to choose 8 out of 9 flowers.
So, total combinations = $$_9C_8$$ = 9

Finally, the total grouping for candle + flower will be 9 * 6 = 54

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by [email protected] » Sun Dec 15, 2019 12:32 pm
Hi M7MBA,

We're told that Claudia can choose any two of four different candles and any 8 of 9 different flowers for a centerpiece arrangement. We're asked for the number of candle + flower groupings she can select. When choosing 'groups' of items, the order of your choices does NOT matter, meaning that we can use the Combination Formula to approach this question (although we'll have to use it more than once).

Combination Formula = N!/K!(N-K)! where N is the total number of items and K is the number that you will pick.

We have 4 candles and we are choosing 2.... 4c2 = 4!/2!2! = (4)(3)/(2)(1) = 6 possible groups of candles
We have 9 flowers and we are choosing 8.... 9c8 = 9!/8!1! = (9)/(1) = 9 possible groups of flowers

Thus, there are (6)(9) = 54 possible groups of candles+flowers.

Final Answer: A

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by Scott@TargetTestPrep » Wed Jan 01, 2020 6:42 pm
M7MBA wrote:Claudia can choose any two of four different candles and any 8 of 9 different flowers for a centerpiece arrangement. Given these choices, how many candle + flower groupings can she select?

A. 54
B. 72
C. 96
D. 144
E. 432

[spoiler]OA=A[/spoiler]

Source: Magoosh

The number of possible groupings is:

4C2 x 9C8 = (4 x 3)/2 x 9 = 6 x 9 = 54

Answer: A

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