Question

In a race, there are 14 runners. Trophies for the race are awarded to the runners finishing in first through fourth place.

In how many ways can first through fourth place be determined?

Answer 1

There's really two ways to do this. There is the "spend all day" method, and the quick method.

The spend all day method is to write it all out by hand. That takes forever. So not cool.

Then we have the other way. Here is a video that does a great job of explaning a similar problem. On the left of the screen, there's other examples given. It'll really help you master the subject

https://www.khanacademy.org/math/trigonometry/prob_comb/combinatorics_precalc/v/combinations

Answer 2

I know your probably thinking "I JUST WANT HELP FOR THIS QUESTION, NOT AN ENTIRE VIDEO!!!!" But good news. They solve a very similar problem. They have 4 chairs, you have 4 medals. They have 5 people, you have 14. Just use your numbers instead of theirs'. It's all the same concept