A lawn care company has five employees, and there are ten houses that need care on a given day. How many different ways can the company assign the five employees to work at the different houses on that day if each employee works at two houses?
(A) 50
(B) 2!/1!
(C) 120
(D) 10!/5!
(E) 10!
[spoiler]OA=D[/spoiler]
I am confused. Could anyone give me a detailed explanation here? Please. I'd be thankful.
A lawn care company has five employees, and there are ten
This topic has expert replies
-
- Legendary Member
- Posts: 1622
- Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2018 7:22 am
- Followed by:2 members
Timer
00:00
Your Answer
A
B
C
D
E
Global Stats
- GMATGuruNY
- GMAT Instructor
- Posts: 15539
- Joined: Tue May 25, 2010 12:04 pm
- Location: New York, NY
- Thanked: 13060 times
- Followed by:1906 members
- GMAT Score:790
The posted problem has been transcribed from the original source -- the book GMAT for Dummies -- incorrectly.
In the book, the prompt reads as follows:
Number of houses that could be assigned to the second employee = 9. (Any of the 9 remaining houses.)
Number of houses that could be assigned to the third employee = 8. (Any of the 8 remaining houses.)
Number of houses that could be assigned to the fourth employee = 7. (Any of the 7 remaining houses.)
Number of houses that could be assigned to the fifth employee = 6. (Any of the 6 remaining houses.)
To combine these options, we multiply:
10*9*8*7*6.
The product above is equivalent to D:
10!/5! = 10*9*8*7*6.
The correct answer is D.
In the book, the prompt reads as follows:
Number of houses that could be assigned to the first employee = 10. (Any of the 10 houses.)Gmat_mission wrote:A lawn care company has five employees, and there are ten houses that need care on a given day. How many different ways can the company assign the five employees to work at the different houses on that day if each employee provides service for just one home?
(A) 50
(B) 2!/1!
(C) 120
(D) 10!/5!
(E) 10!
Number of houses that could be assigned to the second employee = 9. (Any of the 9 remaining houses.)
Number of houses that could be assigned to the third employee = 8. (Any of the 8 remaining houses.)
Number of houses that could be assigned to the fourth employee = 7. (Any of the 7 remaining houses.)
Number of houses that could be assigned to the fifth employee = 6. (Any of the 6 remaining houses.)
To combine these options, we multiply:
10*9*8*7*6.
The product above is equivalent to D:
10!/5! = 10*9*8*7*6.
The correct answer is D.
Private tutor exclusively for the GMAT and GRE, with over 20 years of experience.
Followed here and elsewhere by over 1900 test-takers.
I have worked with students based in the US, Australia, Taiwan, China, Tajikistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia -- a long list of countries.
My students have been admitted to HBS, CBS, Tuck, Yale, Stern, Fuqua -- a long list of top programs.
As a tutor, I don't simply teach you how I would approach problems.
I unlock the best way for YOU to solve problems.
For more information, please email me (Mitch Hunt) at [email protected].
Student Review #1
Student Review #2
Student Review #3
Followed here and elsewhere by over 1900 test-takers.
I have worked with students based in the US, Australia, Taiwan, China, Tajikistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia -- a long list of countries.
My students have been admitted to HBS, CBS, Tuck, Yale, Stern, Fuqua -- a long list of top programs.
As a tutor, I don't simply teach you how I would approach problems.
I unlock the best way for YOU to solve problems.
For more information, please email me (Mitch Hunt) at [email protected].
Student Review #1
Student Review #2
Student Review #3
-
- Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
- Posts: 415
- Joined: Thu Oct 15, 2009 11:52 am
- Thanked: 27 times
Number of ways to select 5 houses from 10: 10!/5!*5!Gmat_mission wrote:A lawn care company has five employees, and there are ten houses that need care on a given day. How many different ways can the company assign the five employees to work at the different houses on that day if each employee works at two houses?
(A) 50
(B) 2!/1!
(C) 120
(D) 10!/5!
(E) 10!
[spoiler]OA=D[/spoiler]
I am confused. Could anyone give me a detailed explanation here? Please. I'd be thankful.
Number of ways a group of 5 houses can be distributed among 5 employees: 5!
Total number of ways: (10!/5!*5!)*5! = [spoiler]10!/5!, D[/spoiler]
GMAT/MBA Expert
- Jeff@TargetTestPrep
- GMAT Instructor
- Posts: 1462
- Joined: Thu Apr 09, 2015 9:34 am
- Location: New York, NY
- Thanked: 39 times
- Followed by:22 members
Number of ways the houses could be assigned to the first employee = 10Gmat_mission wrote:A lawn care company has five employees, and there are ten houses that need care on a given day. How many different ways can the company assign the five employees to work at the different houses on that day if each employee provides service for just one home?
(A) 50
(B) 2!/1!
(C) 120
(D) 10!/5!
(E) 10!
Number of ways the houses could be assigned to the second employee = 9
Number of ways the houses could be assigned to the third employee =8
Number of ways the houses could be assigned to the fourth employee = 7
Number of ways the houses that could be assigned to the fifth employee = 6
So the total number of ways is
10 x 9 x 8 x 7 x 6 = 10!/5!
Answer: D
Jeffrey Miller
Head of GMAT Instruction
[email protected]
See why Target Test Prep is rated 5 out of 5 stars on BEAT the GMAT. Read our reviews