you want to put 8 different books on a shelf, side by side. In how many ways can you put these books?

Answer 1

8! or 8 * 7 * 6 * 5 * 4 * 3 * 2 * 1
40320
(assuming all books are placed correct way up etc)

Answer 2

You have eight spaces on your shelf:
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

First put a book in the first space. How many choices do you have? You have eight books, so eight:
8 _ _ _ _ _ _ _

How many choices do you have for the book in the second space? You've already placed one book; there are seven left, so seven:
8 7 _ _ _ _ _ _

Keep doing this until you have one space left, and only one book to fill it:
8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

By the multiplication principle of probablilty, the way we find the total number of these possibilities together (placing the first book AND placing the second book, etc.) is to multiply the individual numbers of choices:
8*7*6*5*4*3*2*1 = 40320

The idea of starting with a number and multiplying it together with all positive numbers less than it is so important in probability that we give it a special name:
8*7*6*5*4*3*2*1 = 8 factorial = 8!

Answer 3

You can place them in 8! = 8*7*6*5*4*3*2*1 = 40320 ways.

Answer 4

40320 ways a lot i know but pretty sure it's right

Answer 5

1x2x3x4x5x6x7x8=40,320posibilities