Francesca is picking out material for her new quilt. At the fabric store, there are 17

solids, 7
striped prints, and 9
floral prints that she can choose from. If she needs 2
solids, 3
floral prints, and 4
striped fabrics for her quilt, how many different ways can she choose the materials?

1 answer

To find the total number of ways Francesca can choose the materials for her quilt, we will multiply the number of options for each type of fabric:

Number of ways to choose 2 solids: 17 choose 2 = 17! / [(17-2)! * 2!] = 136
Number of ways to choose 3 floral prints: 9 choose 3 = 9! / [(9-3)! * 3!] = 84
Number of ways to choose 4 striped fabrics: 7 choose 4 = 7! / [(7-4)! * 4!] = 35

Total number of ways to choose the materials = 136 * 84 * 35 = 405,360

Therefore, Francesca can choose the materials for her quilt in 405,360 different ways.