There are 8 students in a small class. to make a team, the names of the 2 of them will be drawn from a hat. how many different teams of 2 students are

Use slot method
2 slots

8 choices for first slot
7 choices for second (since 1 is in 1st slot)
8 times 7=56

56 ways to make 2 person teams

The first name can be any one of the 8.
               For each of those . . .
The second name can be any one of the remaining 7.

Total number of ways that 2 names can be drawn = (8 x 7) = 56 .

But . . .

Each team can be drawn in two different ways . . .
       -- Smith first, then Cohen
       -- Cohen first, then Smith.

So, among the 56 ways to draw 2 names, you will find
each possible pair of names drawn twice, in the opposite
order.

The number of different 2-member teams is  (56 / 2)  =  28 .