Using the combination formula, it is found that your family could choose the desserts in 495 ways.
The order in which the desserts are chosen is not important, hence the combination formula is used to solve this question.
[tex]C_{n,x}[/tex] is the number of different combinations of x objects from a set of n elements, given by:
[tex]C_{n,x} = \frac{n!}{x!(n-x)!}[/tex]
In this problem, 4 desserts are chosen from a set of 12, hence:
[tex]C_{12,4} = \frac{12!}{4!8!} = 495[/tex]
Your family could choose the desserts in 495 ways.
More can be learned about the combination formula at https://brainly.com/question/25821700
