2001 AMC 8 Problems/Problem 14

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Problem

Tyler has entered a buffet line in which he chooses one kind of meat, two different vegetables and one dessert. If the order of food items is not important, how many different meals might he choose?

  • Meat: beef, chicken, pork
  • Vegetables: baked beans, corn, potatoes, tomatoes
  • Dessert: brownies, chocolate cake, chocolate pudding, ice cream

$\text{(A)}\ 4 \qquad \text{(B)}\ 24 \qquad \text{(C)}\ 72 \qquad \text{(D)}\ 80 \qquad \text{(E)}\ 144$

Solution

There are $3$ possibilities for the meat and $4$ possibilites for the dessert, for a total of $4\times3=12$ possibilities for the meat and the dessert. There are $4$ possibilities for the first vegetable and $3$ possibilities for the second, but order doesn't matter, so we overcounted by a factor of $2$. For example, we counted 'baked beans and corn' and 'corn and baked beans' as $2$ different possibilities, so the total possibilites for the two vegetables is $\frac{4\times3}{2}=6$, and the total number of possibilites is $12\times6=72, \boxed{\text{C}}$

See Also

2001 AMC 8 (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 12
Followed by
Problem 15
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