Question 19
The corners of a fixed convex (but not necessarily regular) $n$-gon are labeled with distinct letters. If an observer stands at a point in the plane of the polygon, but outside the polygon, they see the letters in some order from left to right, and they spell a "word" (that is, a string of letters; it doesn't need to be a word in any language). For example, in the diagram below (where $n=4$), an observer at point $X$ would read "BAMO," while an observer at point $Y$ would read "MOAB."
Determine, as a formula in terms of $n$, the maximum number of distinct $n$-letter words which may be read in this manner from a single $n$-gon. Do not count words in which some letter is missing because it is directly behind another letter from the viewer's position.
Determine, as a formula in terms of $n$, the maximum number of distinct $n$-letter words which may be read in this manner from a single $n$-gon. Do not count words in which some letter is missing because it is directly behind another letter from the viewer's position.