Maths · The fundamental principle of counting

In a crossword puzzle, 20 words are to be guessed of which 8 words have each an

In a crossword puzzle, 20 words are to be guessed of which 8 words have each an alternative solution also. The number of possible solutions will be

  • A. \( 20 P_{8} \)
  • B. \( 20 \mathrm{C}_{8} \)
  • C. 512
  • D. 256

Step-by-step solution

There are 20 words total; 8 words have 2 possible solutions each, and the remaining 12 have 1 solution each. By the fundamental principle of counting, the total number of possible solutions is 2^8 = 256.
Practise more in this unitView MCQsSign up for full question bank