Question 1
There are 13 people at a party. If each person shakes hands with every other person exactly once, how many handshakes occur?
Step-by-Step Solution:
Concept: Handshake problem - each handshake involves 2 people, and order doesn't matter.
Given: 13 people
Method 1 - Combination:
Number of handshakes = Number of ways to choose 2 people from 13
= C(13, 2) = 13! / (2! × 11!) = 13×12/2
Method 2 - Counting per person:
Each person shakes hands with 12 others
Total count: 13 × 12 = 156
But each handshake counted twice, so divide by 2: 156/2
Calculation:
= 13×12/2 = 78
= 78
Key Formula: Number of handshakes = C(n, 2) = n(n-1)/2
Concept: Handshake problem - each handshake involves 2 people, and order doesn't matter.
Given: 13 people
Method 1 - Combination:
Number of handshakes = Number of ways to choose 2 people from 13
= C(13, 2) = 13! / (2! × 11!) = 13×12/2
Method 2 - Counting per person:
Each person shakes hands with 12 others
Total count: 13 × 12 = 156
But each handshake counted twice, so divide by 2: 156/2
Calculation:
= 13×12/2 = 78
= 78
Key Formula: Number of handshakes = C(n, 2) = n(n-1)/2