Question: In the spelling bee, Max has 5 points, Dulce has 3 points, and Val has twice the combined points of Max and Dulce. If they are on the same team and their opponents' team has a total of 40 points, how many points are their team behind? Think carefully first, then make a decision:
Max and Dulce's total combined points are 5 + 3 = 8. So, Val got 8 x 2 = 16 points. And the total points of their team is 8 + 16 = 24. Therefore, their team is 40 - 24 = 16 points behind. So the answer is 16.