Final answer:
The number of different ways the prizes can be awarded to the entrants is 19600.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the number of different ways the prizes can be awarded to the entrants, we need to use the concept of combinations. Since there are 50 people and 3 identical prizes, we can determine the number of ways by calculating the combination of 50 people taken 3 at a time.
The formula for combination is given by nCr = n! / (r!(n-r)!), where n is the total number of items and r is the number of items chosen.
In this case, n = 50 and r = 3, so the number of ways is 50C3 = 50! / (3!(50-3)!) = 19600.