in how many ways can a member of a hiring committee select 3 of 12 job applicants for further consideration? 
binomial distribution 
this is what is known as a "combination" (versus "permutation") since the order in which the 3 people are selected does not matter. if each job were unique, then you would use a permutation (which is always a larger number). the formula for combinations is sample space (factorial) divided by the product of the number being selected (factorial) and the difference of the two (factorial); i.e, 12!/(3!*9!) =220
12!/(9!3!)= 12 x 11 x 10 / 6= 220