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Seven runners are competing in a race where 33 of them will earn medals for finishing first, second, and third. How many unique ways are there to arrange 33 of the 77 runners in first, second, and third place?

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Q. Seven runners are competing in a race where 33 of them will earn medals for finishing first, second, and third. How many unique ways are there to arrange 33 of the 77 runners in first, second, and third place?
  1. Calculate Factorial of 77: We need to calculate the number of permutations of 77 runners taken 33 at a time, since the order in which they finish is important.\newlineThe formula for permutations of nn items taken rr at a time is P(n,r)=n!(nr)!P(n, r) = \frac{n!}{(n - r)!}.\newlineHere, n=7n = 7 (total runners) and r=3r = 3 (positions to fill).
  2. Calculate Factorial of (73)(7-3): First, we calculate the factorial of nn, which is 7!7! (77 factorial).\newline7!=7×6×5×4×3×2×1=50407! = 7 \times 6 \times 5 \times 4 \times 3 \times 2 \times 1 = 5040.
  3. Use Permutation Formula: Next, we calculate the factorial of (nr)(n - r), which is (73)!(7 - 3)! or 4!4! (44 factorial).4!=4×3×2×1=244! = 4 \times 3 \times 2 \times 1 = 24.
  4. Perform Division: Now, we use the permutation formula to find P(7,3)P(7, 3).P(7,3)=7!(73)!=504024P(7, 3) = \frac{7!}{(7 - 3)!} = \frac{5040}{24}.
  5. Perform Division: Now, we use the permutation formula to find P(7,3)P(7, 3).P(7,3)=7!(73)!=504024P(7, 3) = \frac{7!}{(7 - 3)!} = \frac{5040}{24}.We perform the division to find the number of unique ways.P(7,3)=504024=210P(7, 3) = \frac{5040}{24} = 210.

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