In a meeting between two countries, each country has 12 delegates. All the delegates of one country shake hands with all delegates of the other country. Find the number of handshakes possible.

Options

A. 72
B. 144
C. 288
D. 234

Answer

To find the number of handshakes possible between the delegates of two countries, we can follow these steps:

### Step-by-Step Solution:

1. **Identify the number of delegates from each country**:
- Country A has 12 delegates.
- Country B also has 12 delegates.

2. **Understand the handshake scenario**:
- Each delegate from Country A shakes hands with every delegate from Country B.

3. **Calculate the total handshakes**:
- Since each delegate from Country A shakes hands with all 12 delegates from Country B, we can calculate the total number of handshakes by multiplying the number of delegates from Country A by the number of delegates from Country B.
- Total handshakes = Number of delegates from Country A × Number of delegates from Country B
- Total handshakes = 12 × 12

4. **Perform the multiplication**:
- Total handshakes = 144

5. **Conclusion**:
- The total number of handshakes possible is 144.

### Final Answer:
The number of handshakes possible is **144**.

---