A committee of three people is to be chosen from four married couples. What is the number of different committee that can be chosen if two people who are married to each other cannot both serve on the committee?

A. 16
B. 24
C. 26
D. 30
E. 32

Here's another approach:

Take the task of selecting the 3 committee members and break it into stages.

Stage 1: Select the 3 couples from which we will select 1 spouse each.
There are 4 couples, and we must select 3 of them. Since the order in which we select the 3 couples does not matter, this stage can be accomplished in 4C3 ways (4 ways)

If anyone is interested, we have a free video on calculating combinations (like 4C3) in your head: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat-counting?id=789

Stage 2: Take one of the 3 selected couples and choose 1 person to be on the committee.
There are 2 people in the couple, so this stage can be accomplished in 2 ways.

Stage 3: Take one of the 3 selected couples and choose 1 person to be on the committee.
There are 2 people in the couple, so this stage can be accomplished in 2 ways.

Stage 4: Take one of the 3 selected couples and choose 1 person to be on the committee.
There are 2 people in the couple, so this stage can be accomplished in 2 ways.

By the Fundamental Counting Principle (FCP) we can complete all 4 stages (and thus create a 3-person committee) in (4)(2)(2)(2) ways (= 32 ways)

Answer = E

Cheers,
Brent

Aside: For more information about the FCP, we have a free video on the subject: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat-counting?id=775