Multiple choice

A question paper has $5$ questions. Each question has an alternative. The number of ways in which a student can attempt atleast one question is.

  1. $2^5 - 1$
  2. $3^5 - 1$
  3. $3^4 - 1$
  4. $2^4 - 1$
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A Correct answer
AI explanation

Each of the 5 questions offers the student exactly 2 choices: either attempt the question or attempt its alternative. Using the fundamental principle of multiplication, the total number of ways to attempt the paper is 2 multiplied by itself 5 times, giving 2^5 ways. Since the student must attempt at least one question, we subtract the 1 case where no questions are attempted, yielding 2^5 - 1 ways.

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