Forming Committees

On every UIL Mathematics test, there seems to be a problem about forming a committee of people.

To form a committee, you'll be dealing with a combination. A committee of a selected group of people is always the same, even if the people are chosen in a different order. Therefore, order does matter, so you'll use the 'Choose' function, or nCr in your calculator.

EX: You want to form a committee of 3 people from a pool of 6 people. How many different combinations can you form?

ANSWER: 6 nCr 3, or 6 'Choose' 3, = 20. Therefore, there are 20 possibilities for a group of 3 people.

-Marisa

(Have an amazing Spring Break!)