Problem: tough and tricky questions : combinations . 8 contestants representing 4 different countries advance to the finals of a fencing championship . assuming all competitors have an equal chance of winning , how many possibilities are there with respect to how a first - place and second - place medal can be awarded ?
Rationale: number of ways first - place medal can be awarded to four contestants = 8 number of ways second - place medal can be awarded to contestants after awarding first - place medal = 3 therefore number of possibilities = 8 * 3 = 24 answer : e
annotated_formula: multiply(8, subtract(4, const_1))