In how many ways can $18$ distinct objects be distributed among $3$ friends

algebra-precalculuscombinatorics

In how many ways can $18$ distinct objects be distributed among $3$ friends?

My approach:-
Since there is no constraint on the distribution, each object can be distributed in $3$ ways. Hence total number of ways should be $3^{18}$. Is this correct? If not then please tell me how this can be done. Thank you very much!

Best Answer

It is correct. The way to distribute $m$ distinguishable objects in $n$ ordered boxes, regardless of the order of the objects within the boxes, is equal to $n^{m}$.