To solve the problem of finding how many numbers with two or more digits can be formed from the digits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 with each digit used at most once and in ascending order, consider the following steps:
- Recognize that each number must have at least two digits, and the digits must appear in ascending order, which implies choosing a subset of digits and arranging them in a fixed sequence.
- The total number of ways to choose any non-empty subset of digits from nine available digits {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9} is given by the sum of combinations from size 2 to 9.
- Calculate the combinations for each valid number of digits. For a number with \( n \) digits, the count is \( \binom{9}{n} \). Calculate for \( n = 2, 3, ..., 9 \) and sum these values:
- \(\binom{9}{2} = 36\)
- \(\binom{9}{3} = 84\)
- \(\binom{9}{4} = 126\)
- \(\binom{9}{5} = 126\)
- \(\binom{9}{6} = 84\)
- \(\binom{9}{7} = 36\)
- \(\binom{9}{8} = 9\)
- \(\binom{9}{9} = 1\)
- Sum these values to get the total number of valid numbers:
\[ \binom{9}{2} + \binom{9}{3} + \binom{9}{4} + \binom{9}{5} + \binom{9}{6} + \binom{9}{7} + \binom{9}{8} + \binom{9}{9} = 36 + 84 + 126 + 126 + 84 + 36 + 9 + 1 = 502 \]
Therefore, the total number of such numbers is 502, which falls within the expected range (502,502).