Question: There are three machines in a factory. Machine A can put caps on 12 bottles in 1 minute. Machine B can put caps to 2 fewer bottles than Machine A. Machine C can put caps to 5 more bottles than Machine B. How many bottles can those three machines put caps on in 10 minutes?
Answer: Machine A can put caps on 12 x 10 = 120 bottles in 10 minutes. Machine B can put caps on 12 - 2 = 10 bottles in 1 minute. So in 10 minutes, machine B can put caps on 10 x 10 = 100 bottles. Machine c can put caps on 10 + 5 = 15 bottles in 1 minute. So in 10 minutes, machine C can put caps on 15 x 10 = 150 bottles. Therefore, the three machines can put caps on 120 + 100 + 150 = 370 bottles in 10 minutes. The answer is 370.

Question: Three years ago, Bethany was twice the age of her younger sister. In 5 years, her younger sister will be 16. How old is Bethany now?
Answer: First find how old Bethany's sister currently is: 16 years - 5 years = 11 years. Then find how old her sister was 3 years ago: 11 years - 3 years = 8 years. Then double that age to find how old Bethany was three years ago: 8 years * 2 = 16 years. Then add 3 years to that number to find how old Bethany is now: 16 years + 3 years = 19 years. The answer is 19.

Question: One set of barrettes costs $3 each, and one comb costs $1 each. Kristine buys one set of barrettes and one comb. Crystal buys three sets of barrettes and one comb. How much do the two girls spend altogether?
Answer: Kristine spends $3 + $1 = $4. Three sets of barrettes cost 3 x $3 = $9. Crystal spends $9 + $1 = $10. Therefore, the two girls spend $4 + $10 = $14. The answer is 14.

Question: Brittany has 3 gerbils: Puffy, Muffy, and Scruffy. Puffy weighs 5 ounces more than Muffy. Muffy weighs 3 ounces less than Scruffy. If Scruffy weighs 12 ounces, how much would the scale indicate, in ounces, if Brittany put Puffy and Muffy on the scale?
Answer:
Muffy weighs 12 - 3 = 9 ounces. Puffy weighs 5 + 9 = 14 ounces. If Brittany weighs both Puffy and Muffy, the scale would read 9 + 14 = 23 ounces. The answer is 23.