Final answer:
The number of different groups of 3 books that can be chosen from 8 books is 56, calculated using the combination formula C(n, k) = n! / (k!(n - k)!), resulting in C(8, 3) = 56.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question is asking to find out how many different groups of 3 books can be chosen from 8 books on a shelf. This is a combinations problem, not a permutation problem, because the order of selection does not matter. To solve this problem, we use the combination formula, which is:
C(n, k) = n! / (k!(n - k)!)
Where n is the total number of items to choose from, in this case, 8 books, and k is the number of items to choose, which is 3 books. So:
C(8, 3) = 8! / (3!(8 - 3)!) = (8 × 7 × 6) / (3 × 2 × 1) = 56.
Therefore, there are 56 different groups of 3 books that could be chosen, which corresponds to option C).