what is the answer to this: If the are 12 people running a race how many possibilities are there for 1st 2nd and 3rd place?

There are 12 possibilities for 1st place.  For each of these there are 11 possibilities left for 2nd place, so there are 12*11 possibilities for the first two places.  For each of these there are 10 possibilities left for 3rd place, so there are 12*11*10 possibilities for the first 3 places.

$${\mathtt{12}}{\mathtt{\,\times\,}}{\mathtt{11}}{\mathtt{\,\times\,}}{\mathtt{10}} = {\mathtt{1\,320}}$$

I have no idea!