A quad-core processor can handle 1 program on each of its 4 cores at the same time. If there are 20 programs queued to run on it, and each program can only be assigned to one core, how many different combinations of programs can be run at the same time?

Answer: N = 4845

Therefore, the number of different combinations of programs that can be run at the same time is 4845.

Step-by-step explanation:

In combination, the order of the programs does not matter.

nCr = n!/r! (n-r) !

For the case above we want to determine the number of combinations of 20 programs on a 4 cores computer.

N = 20C4 = 20!/4! (20-4) !

N = 20!/4!16!

N = (20*19*18*17*16!) / (4!*16!)

N = 4845