A student is given a reading list of ten books from which he must select four for an outside reading requirement. In how many ways can he make his selections?

Answer 1

You need to ask yourself...
Does order matter? If it did this would be a permutation question.
In this case order does not matter, so it is a combination question
10Choose4

Answer 2

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

1, 2, 3, 4.
2, 3, 4, 5.
3, 4. 5, 6.
4, 5, 6, 7.
5, 6, 7, 8.
6, 7, 8, 9.
7, 8, 9, 10.
8, 9, 10, 1.
9, 10, 1, 2.
10, 1, 2, 3.
There are 10 different ways.