Answer
Total number of ways to order a meal equals to 144.
Work Step by Step
We know that the situation involves making choices with four groups of items.
We use the fundamental counting principle to find the number of ways to order a meal. Multiply the number of choices for each of the two groups.
That is,
$4\times 3\times 4\times 3=144$
Hence, there are 144 ways to order a meal.
And, two such orders are:
Order1 - Fish, Peas, Milk, cake
Order2 - Beef, Potatoes, Soda, Pie
The total number of ways to order a meal equals to 144.
