Question

There are 3 feeder bus services plying to and from the nearby town center. Ahmed can ride on one of these services or walk to the town center. However, he decides that on this way back , he will ride on one of these services. In how many ways can he go to the town center and back ?​

Answer 1

Ahmed has 3 choices for the first leg of the trip and 3 choices for the return trip, resulting in 9 total ways he can go to the town center and back.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the number of ways Ahmed can go to the town center and back, we need to consider the options for each leg of the trip. For the first leg, Ahmed has 3 choices: he can take one of the 3 feeder bus services or walk. Let's call this choice A.

Once Ahmed reaches the town center, he decides to ride one of the feeder bus services back. Again, he has 3 choices for the return trip. Let's call this choice B.

Using the fundamental principle of counting, we multiply the number of choices for each leg to find the total number of ways Ahmed can go to the town center and back. Thus, the number of ways is 3 choices for the first leg (A) multiplied by 3 choices for the return trip (B), which equals 9.