How many different four letter words can be made using the letters of the word MEDITERRANEAN, such that the first letter is E and the last letter is R?
(a) 11!/(2!*2!*2!)
(b) 59
(c) 56
(d) 23
(e) 11!/(3!*2!*2!*2!)
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g_beatthegmat
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g_beatthegmat
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atlantic
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Sure? Gosh! How can that be? Such an odd number! lol
I've not a clue how it can be 59 and why my reasoning is incorrect. It seems so simple that I would suggest that the solution is wrong, but I've seen a lot of odd things in GMAT.
Any expert please......
BTW: g_beatthegmat, what is your solution and reasoning (if you have any)?
I've not a clue how it can be 59 and why my reasoning is incorrect. It seems so simple that I would suggest that the solution is wrong, but I've seen a lot of odd things in GMAT.
Any expert please......
BTW: g_beatthegmat, what is your solution and reasoning (if you have any)?
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Ian Stewart
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We know the word looks like: E _ _ R.g_beatthegmat wrote:How many different four letter words can be made using the letters of the word MEDITERRANEAN, such that the first letter is E and the last letter is R?
We have used an E and R, so we have eight different letters left:
A,A,D,E,E,I,M,N,N,R,T
There are two possibilities:
-The two remaining letters are different from each other (e.g. EADR, EIER, etc). We have 8 choices for the first letter and 7 for the second; 8*7 = 56 different words.
-The two remaining letters are identical (i.e. EAAR, EEER, ENNR). There are only three pairs of identical letters; 3 different words.
56 + 3 = 59.
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g_beatthegmat
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durgesh79
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Ian, you rock !!!! 8)Ian Stewart wrote:We know the word looks like: E _ _ R.g_beatthegmat wrote:How many different four letter words can be made using the letters of the word MEDITERRANEAN, such that the first letter is E and the last letter is R?
We have used an E and R, so we have eight different letters left:
A,A,D,E,E,I,M,N,N,R,T
There are two possibilities:
-The two remaining letters are different from each other (e.g. EADR, EIER, etc). We have 8 choices for the first letter and 7 for the second; 8*7 = 56 different words.
-The two remaining letters are identical (i.e. EAAR, EEER, ENNR). There are only three pairs of identical letters; 3 different words.
56 + 3 = 59.
