The number of ways we can have five people line up at a checkout counter in a supermarket is 120 ways.
Since order is important, we use permutations to answer the question
These are the number of ways, x of arranging n objects. It is given by ⁿPₓ = n(n - 1)(n - 2)(n - 3)...(n - x + 1) = n!/(n - r)!
Since we have five people to be arranged in line, there are 5 people to be arranged in 5 places.
So, there are 5 places for the first person, 4 places for the second person, 3 places for the third person, 2 places for the fourth person and 1 place for the last person.
So, we number of permutations or number of ways of arranging them in line is ⁵P₅ = 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1
= 120 ways
So, the number of ways we can have five people line up at a checkout counter in a supermarket is 120 ways.
Learn more about permutations here:
https://brainly.com/question/5708836
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