A state had three letters followed by three digits as the format for license plates. In order to increase the number of plates available, the state changed the format to four letters followed by two digits. What is the positive difference between the number of plates available with the new format and the number of plates available with the old format?
There are 26 different letters and 10 different digits.
number of possibilities with 3 letters and 3 digits = 263 * 103
number of possibilities with 4 letters and 2 digits = 264 * 102
the positive difference between them = 264 * 102 - 263 * 103
the positive difference between them = 263 * 102 * (26 - 10)
the positive difference between them = 263 * 102 * 16
the positive difference between them = 28121600