EXAMPLE
1.5.21
A jar contains a
penny, a nickel, a dime, a quarter, a half-dollar, and a silver dollar. Three
coins are selected (without replacement) and their monetary sum is determined.
How many different monetary sums are possible? (Examples: dime, quarter, penny:
36¢; nickel, half-dollar, dollar: $1.55.)
A.
36 B.
120 C.
60 D.
20
The process
involves choosing 3 different coins from a set of six coins. Since we are concerned with the
monetary sum of the three coins, the order in which the coins are selected or
listed is not important (for instance, choosing the penny, the nickel and the
dime is the same as choosing the dime, the nickel and the penny; either way,
they add up to 16 cents).
C(6,3) = 20 different monetary sums.