Which chown command changes the ownership to dave and the group to staff on a file named data.txt?

The command that changes the ownership of the file named data.txt to the user dave and the group to staff is structured correctly as "chown dave:staff data.txt". In this syntax, "dave" specifies the new owner, while "staff" specifies the new group. The colon (:) is the correct delimiter used in the chown command to separate the user and group names, allowing for both to be set in a single command.

Using the correct syntax is essential for the command to execute successfully, as it directly affects file permissions and ownership in a Linux environment. Proper ownership settings are important for maintaining security and access control, as they determine which users and groups can read, write, or execute a file.