Answer:
They can sit in 19,958,400 ways
Step-by-step explanation:
The seating arrangements matter based off of rank, which means that we use the permutations formula to solve this question.
Permutations formula:
The number of possible permutations of x elements from a set of n elements is given by the following formula:
[tex]P_{(n,x)} = \frac{n!}{(n-x)!}[/tex]
In this question:
8 seats from a set of 12. So
[tex]P_{(12,8)} = \frac{12!}{(12-8)!} = 19,958,400[/tex]
They can sit in 19,958,400 ways