A restaurant offers the following limited lunch menu.
Main Courses – Turkey, Ham, Duck, Shrimp, Ribs, Quiche
Vegetables – Peas, Squash, Cauliflower, Corn
Beverages – Coffee, Soda
Desserts – Ice Cream , Brownies, Mousse.
If one item is selected from each of the four groups, in how many ways can a meal be ordered?.
Solution:-
Recall the Fundamental Counting Principle
The number of ways in which a series of successive things can occur is found by multiplying the number of ways in which each thing can occur.
This situation involves making choices with four groups of items. First, we must decide from how many of each group we can choose.
There are 6 main courses from which to choose in the menu.
There are 4 vegetables from which to choose in the menu.
There are 2 beverages from which to choose in the menu.
There are 3 desserts from which to choose in the menu.
We use the Fundamental Counting Principle to find the number of four-course meals that can be ordered. Multiply the number of choices for each of the four groups.
6 * 4 * 2 * 3 = 144
Thus, there are 144 ways that a meal can be ordered.