How many ways can first, second, and third place be assigned? at a gymnastics meet, twenty gymnasts compete for first, second, and third place.

The total number of ways can first, second and third place can be assigned are:

                          6840

The total number of people that compete are: 20

Out of these 20 people we have to chose 3 people and also arrange them according to their ranks.

We know that when we have to choose and  arrange r items out of total n items then we need to use the method of permutation.

Hence, the formula is given by:

Here we have:

n=20 and r=3

Hence, the number of ways first, second and third place can be assigned are:

         Hence, the answer is:

                 6840

the answer to the expression is 83