Question: Andy had a platter of chocolate cookies. He ate 3 of them then gave his little brother 5 because he was behaving. He then handed the platter to his basketball team of eight members. The first player to arrive took 1, the second player to arrive took 3, the third player took 5, and so on. When the last player took his share, the platter was empty. How many chocolate cookies did Andy have from start with?
Answer with step-by-step thinking: Andy and his brother ate 5 + 3 = 8 cookies in total. The nth term of the sequence for the basketball players taking cookies in 2n - 1. The number of players is 8 so they would have eaten 1 + 3 + 5 + 7 + 9 + 11 + 13 + 15 = 64 cookies. In total Andy had 64 + 8 = 72 cookies to start with before they were all eaten.
So the answer is 72.


Question: In Johnstown, the population is 80 and every single person drives by themselves to work. Each car on a road pollutes 10 pounds of carbon a year. A single bus pollutes 100 pounds of carbon a year. A bus can hold 40 people. The town decides to start running a bus and 25% of the people who used to drive now take the bus. How many fewer pounds of carbon are now emitted per year?
Answer with step-by-step thinking: The town used to emit 800 pounds of carbon a year because 80 x 10 = 800. 20 now take the bus because 80 x .25 = 20. 60 people still drive because 80 - 20 = 60. Those 60 people create 600 pounds of carbon because 60 x 10 = 600. The town now emits 700 pounds of carbon because 100 + 600 = 700. The town emits 100 fewer pounds of carbon now because 800 - 700 = 100.
So the answer is 100.


Question: Aaron pays his actuary membership fees each year. The membership fee increases yearly by $10. If he pays $80 in the first year, how much does his membership cost, in dollars, in the sixth year?
Answer with step-by-step thinking:
In year 2 he pays 80 + 10 = $90. In year 3 he pays 90 + 10 = $100. In year 4 he pays 100 + 10 = $110. In year 5 he pays 110 + 10 = $120. In year 6 he pays 120 + 10 = $130.
So the answer is 130.