How many license plates can you make if they are each six digits long? This question opens an investigation into permutations. Variations on the question are offered (including solutions) and a final, more complex problem extends the challenge.

How many license plates can you make if they are each six digits long? This question opens an investigation into permutations. Variations on the question are offered (including solutions) and a final, more complex problem extends the challenge. In a section on mathematics, the author explains the mathematical reasoning underlying the common formula for finding "the number of permutations of n objects taken m at a time." This mathematically rich problem was originally developed for the Project Discovery Mathematics by Inquiry institutes for middle grades teachers taught in 1992 - 1994 at Ohio State University. Project Discovery was co-funded by the Ohio Board of Regents and the Statewide Systemic Initiative (SSI) program of the National Science Foundation. (author/sw)