Math Problem Statement

How many different license plates can be made if each plate contains a sequence of three uppercase English letters followed by three digits (and no sequences of letters are prohibited, even if they are obscene)?

Solution

To determine the number of possible license plates that can be made with the given format (three uppercase English letters followed by three digits), we can analyze each part separately:

  1. Three uppercase English letters:

    • There are 26 uppercase English letters (A to Z).
    • For each of the three positions, any letter can be chosen.
    • Therefore, the number of combinations for the letters part is: 26×26×26=26326 \times 26 \times 26 = 26^3
  2. Three digits:

    • There are 10 possible digits (0 to 9).
    • For each of the three positions, any digit can be chosen.
    • Therefore, the number of combinations for the digits part is: 10×10×10=10310 \times 10 \times 10 = 10^3
  3. Total combinations:

    • Since the letters and digits are independent, we can multiply the number of combinations for the letters and the digits to get the total number of possible license plates: 263×10326^3 \times 10^3
  4. Calculating the result:

    • 263=17,57626^3 = 17,576
    • 103=1,00010^3 = 1,000
    • Thus, the total number of license plates is: 17,576×1,000=17,576,00017,576 \times 1,000 = 17,576,000

Answer: There are 17,576,000 different possible license plates with this format.

Would you like a breakdown of the steps or have further questions?


Here are some related questions for further exploration:

  1. What if we use lowercase letters instead of uppercase letters?
  2. How would the number of plates change if each plate had four letters and two digits?
  3. What if the format was four uppercase letters followed by two digits?
  4. How many unique plates can be generated if digits cannot be repeated?
  5. How does adding one more digit to the sequence impact the total combinations?

Tip: Breaking down problems into parts, like letters and digits here, makes it easier to calculate possible outcomes in counting problems.

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Math Problem Analysis

Mathematical Concepts

Counting Principles
Combinations and Permutations

Formulas

Total combinations = (Number of letters)^3 × (Number of digits)^3

Theorems

Multiplication Principle of Counting

Suitable Grade Level

Grades 10-12