FACT

Returns the factorial of a number.

Syntax:

FACT(number)

Returns number!, the factorial of number, calculated as 1*2*3*4* ... * number.FACT(0) returns 1 by definition.

Example:

FACT(3)

returns 6.

FACT(0)

returns 1.

Application:

Imagine a small company with a team of 5 software developers. They are working on a project with 5 distinct tasks, and they need to assign one task to each developer. The project manager wants to know how many different ways the tasks can be assigned to the developers.

This is a permutation problem where we are arranging 5 distinct items (tasks) into 5 distinct positions (developers). The number of ways to do this is given by 5!, which is the factorial of 5.

Using a spreadsheet, the project manager could set up a table like this:

	Developer	Task to be Assigned
	A	B
1	A	Task 1
2	B	Task 2
3	C	Task 3
4	D	Task 4
5	E	Task 5

To calculate the number of possible assignments, they would use the FACT function.

Step-by-step example:

Input the number of items: The project manager would enter the number of developers and tasks, which is 5.
Use the FACT function: They would enter the formula FACT(5).
Get the result: The spreadsheet would calculate the factorial of 5, which is 5×4×3×2×1, and display the result: 120.

This means there are 120 different ways to assign the 5 tasks to the 5 developers.

Result of FACT(5):

120

This is a simple application of how the FACT function can be used to solve a practical problem related to permutations and scheduling. In a more complex scenario, you might use it as part of a larger formula to calculate combinations (e.g., choosing a team of 3 from a group of 10) or to determine the probability of a specific outcome.