a. The number of ways to select a president, a vice president, and a secretary is

It appears that some information is missing from your question. To determine the number of ways to select a president, a vice president, and a secretary, I need to know the total number of people available for these positions. **For example:** - **If you have _n_ people to choose from:** The number of ways to select distinct individuals for the three positions is given by permutations since the order matters (each position is unique). \[ \text{Number of ways} = n \times (n - 1) \times (n - 2) \] This is often denoted as \( P(n, 3) \). - **If the positions can be held by the same person (allowing repetition):** The number of ways would be: \[ \text{Number of ways} = n \times n \times n = n^3 \] However, typically for positions like president, vice president, and secretary, each position is held by a different person, so the first scenario is usually applicable. **Please provide the total number of candidates available**, and I can give you a more specific answer!