Step 1 :This is a permutation problem. We have 20 seats and we want to find out how many ways we can arrange 6 friends in these seats. The formula for permutations is nPr = n! / (n-r)!, where n is the total number of items, and r is the number of items to choose. In this case, n is 20 (the total number of seats) and r is 6 (the number of friends).
Step 2 :Substitute n = 20 and r = 6 into the formula.
Step 3 :Calculate the permutation: \(\frac{20!}{(20-6)!}\)
Step 4 :The result is a float because the division operation returns a float. However, the number of ways should be an integer because we cannot have a fraction of a way. Therefore, convert the result to an integer.
Step 5 :Final Answer: The number of different ways the 6 friends can be seated in a row of 20 seats is \(\boxed{27907200}\).