Question: Merill has twice as many marbles as Elliot and the two of them together have five fewer marbles than Selma. If Selma has fifty marbles, how many marbles does Merill have?
Answer: Step-by-step reasoning process: If Selma has fifty marbles, then Merill and Elliot together have 50 - 5 = 45 marbles. We'll assume the number of marbles that Elliot has is x. If Merill has twice as many marbles as Elliot, then the total number of marbles that Merill and Elliot have together is 2x + x = 45 marbles. This translates to 3x = 45. The number of marbles that Elliot has is x = 45 / 3. This means Elliot has x = 15 marbles. Since Merill has twice as many marbles as Elliot, Merill has 2 * 15 = 30 marbles.
So the answer is 30.

Question: Mrs. Snyder used to spend 40% of her monthly income on rent and utilities. Her salary was recently increased by $600 so now her rent and utilities only amount to 25% of her monthly income. How much was her previous monthly income?
Answer: Step-by-step reasoning process: Let her previous monthly income be p. The cost of her rent and utilities was 40% of p which is (40 / 100) * p = 2p / 5. Her income was increased by $600 so it is now p + $600. The cost of her rent and utilities now amount to 25% of (p + $600) which is (25 / 100) * (p + $600) = (p + $600) / 4. Equating both expressions for cost of rent and utilities: 2p / 5 = (p + $600) / 4. Multiplying both sides of the equation by 20 gives 8p = 5p + $3000. Subtracting 5p from both sides gives: 3p = $3000. Dividing both sides by 3 gives p = $1000.
So the answer is 1000.

Question: Jessica has one hour to take an exam. She has answered 16 out of 80 questions. She has used 12 minutes of her time. If she keeps up this same pace, how many minutes will be left when she finishes the exam?
Answer: Step-by-step reasoning process: She takes .75 minutes to answer a question because 12 / 16 = .75. It will take her 60 minutes to take the entire exam because 80 x .75 = 60. She has 0 minutes left when she is done because 60 - 60 = 0.
So the answer is 0.

Question: Maria's monthly salary is $2000. 20% of her salary goes to paying tax, and 5% goes to insurance. Also, a quarter of the money left after the deductions is spent on utility bills. How much money does Maria have after the deductions and utility bills payment?
Answer:
Step-by-step reasoning process: Maria's deduction for tax is 2000 x 20% = $400. Her deduction for insurance is 2000 x 5% = $100. Maria's total deductions is $400 + $100 = $500. After the deductions, Maria has only $2000 - $500 = $1500 left from her salary. Then, Maria pays $1500 / 4 = $375 for the utility bills. So, Maria has $1500 - $375 = $1125 after the deductions and utility bills payment.
So the answer is 1125.