Unsure of Math Symbol to Use?

Question

From a graph you have 83 items, out of those 83 items, you have to choose 3 options. You decided to test the theory to see how many different variations you can mix.

How many different combinations can you get?

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I'm unsure if its 83 to the 3rd root, or is it as simple as 83x3, to work out the number of combinations.

Thankyou.

Answer 1

if you can reuse items, its 83*83*83= 571787

if you cant reuse items, its 83*82*81= 551286

Answer 2

combination of 83 taken by 3.

83! / (3! * 80!) =  81*82*83 / 6  = 27*41*83.

Answer 3

Sounds like you're looking for

C(83,3) or 83C3, which is

83 * 82 * 81 / (1 * 2 * 3)

After your first choice you can choose from the remaining 82, then 81.

The 6 denominator refers to the number of permutations you have of your three objects.  Since you're only looking for combinations, because order is not important, all six permutations of each selection count as only one combination, hence division by 6.