High School Math : Understanding Factorials

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for High School Math

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Example Questions

Example Question #171 : Mathematical Relationships And Basic Graphs

What is the value of \displaystyle 4! ? 

Possible Answers:

10

6

24

12

4

Correct answer:

24

Explanation:

! is the symbol for factorial, which means the product of the whole numbers less than the given number. 

Thus, \displaystyle 4! = 4 * 3 * 2 * 1 = 24

Example Question #2 : Factorials

What is the value of \displaystyle 4! ? 

Possible Answers:

\displaystyle 8

\displaystyle \frac{1}{4}

\displaystyle 24

\displaystyle 4

\displaystyle 16

Correct answer:

\displaystyle 24

Explanation:

By definition, \displaystyle 4! = 4 \cdot 3 \cdot 2 \cdot 1= 24

Example Question #1 : Factorials

Find the value of:

\displaystyle \frac{7!}{3!}

Possible Answers:

\displaystyle 840

\displaystyle 210

\displaystyle 2520

\displaystyle 2.33

\displaystyle 4

Correct answer:

\displaystyle 840

Explanation:

The factorial sign (!) just tells us to multiply that number by every integer that leads up to it.  So, \displaystyle \frac{7!}{3!} can also be written as: 

\displaystyle \frac{(7\times6\times5\times4\times3\times2\times1)}{(3\times2\times1)}

To make this easier for ourselves, we can cancel out the numbers that appear on both the top and bottom:

\displaystyle 7\times6\times5\times4 = 840

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