To determine the number of different arrangements of 3 plants chosen out of 5, we can use the formula for permutations, because the order in which we arrange the plants matters.
The formula for permutations is given by:
\[ P(n, r) = \frac{n!}{(n - r)!} \]
where
- \( n \) is the total number of items (in this case, plants),
- \( r \) is the number of items to arrange.
In this problem, \( n = 5 \) (the number of plants) and \( r = 3 \) (the number of shaded spots).
Plugging in the values:
\[ P(5, 3) = \frac{5!}{(5 - 3)!} = \frac{5!}{2!} \]
Calculating \( 5! \) and \( 2! \):
\[ 5! = 5 \times 4 \times 3 \times 2 \times 1 = 120 \] \[ 2! = 2 \times 1 = 2 \]
Now substituting back into the permutation formula:
\[ P(5, 3) = \frac{120}{2} = 60 \]
Thus, the number of different arrangements of 3 plants out of 5 is 60.
Therefore, the correct response is 60.