Final answer:
The total number of cans, when starting with 8 cans and subtracting 1 can for each subsequent row, is 36 cans. This is found by summing the first 8 terms of an arithmetic sequence with a common difference of -1.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question involves a sequence where each row has one less can than the previous row, starting with 8 cans in the base row. This sequence is known as an arithmetic sequence, which is a series of numbers with a constant difference between consecutive numbers. In this case, the difference is -1 can per row.
Let's calculate the total number of cans by adding the number of cans in each row until we reach a row with no cans. We start with 8 cans in the first row, then 7 in the second, and so on.
Total cans = 8 + 7 + 6 + 5 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 36 cans
The correct answer is (a) 36 cans. This sum is a result of summing the terms of the arithmetic sequence from 1 to 8, where the common difference is -1.