Alex needs to be 54 inches tall to ride the newest roller coaster at the theme park. He is 48 inches tall this year. He hears a rumor that for every hour he hangs upside down, he can grow 1/12 of an inch. Normally he grows 1/3 of an inch per month. On average, how many hours does he need to hang upside down each month to be tall enough next year to ride the rollercoaster?
Let's think: He is 6 inches too short this year because 54 - 48 = 6. He will naturally grow 4 inches taller because 12 x (1 / 3) = 4. He needs to grow 2 inches from hanging because 6 - 4 = 2. He needs to hang for 24 hours because 2 / (1 / 12) = 24. He needs to hang for 2 hours a month because 24 / 12 = 2.. The answer is: 2.

In a game, Samanta has 8 more points than Mark, and Mark has 50% more points than Eric. Eric has 6 points. How many points do Samanta, Mark, and Eric have in total?
Let's think: Mark has 50 / 100 * 6 = 3 points more than Eric. So Mark has 6 + 3 = 9 points. That means Samanta has 9 + 8 = 17 points. So in total Samanta, Mark, and Eric have 6 + 9 + 17 = 32 points.. The answer is: 32.

Crackers contain 15 calories each and cookies contain 50 calories each. If Jimmy eats 7 cookies, how many crackers does he need to eat to have consumed a total of 500 calories?
Let's think: He has consumed 7 * 50 = 350 calories from the cookies. He needs to consume 500 - 350 = 150 more calories. He should eat 150 / 15 = 10 crackers.. The answer is: 10.

Vincent’s washer broke so he had to go to the laundromat. On Wednesday he washed six loads of clothes. The next day he had time to wash double the number of loads he did the day before. On Friday he had a test and could only manage half of the loads he did on Thursday. On Saturday the laundromat closed at noon and he could only wash a third of the loads of laundry he did on Wednesday. How many loads of laundry had he washed that week?
Let's think:
On Thursday he washed 6 * 2 = 12 loads of laundry. On Friday he washed 12 / 2 = 6 loads of laundry. On Saturday he washed 6 / 3 = 2 loads of laundry. In total he washed 6 + 12 + 6 + 2 = 26 loads of laundry.. The answer is: 26.