Final answer:
The number of different ways to schedule the appearances of the performers can be determined using the concept of factorial. The correct answer is b. 120.
Step-by-step explanation:
The number of different ways to schedule the appearances of the performers can be determined using the concept of factorial. The factorial of a number is the product of all positive integers less than or equal to that number. In this case, we need to find the factorial of the number of performers.
Let's say there are 'n' performers. The number of different ways to schedule them can be calculated as n! (read as 'n factorial'). For example, if there are 5 performers, then the number of different ways to schedule their appearances would be 5!, which is equal to 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1 = 120.
Therefore, the correct answer is b. 120.