Question. If Brooke adds eight balloons to his current 12, and Tracy adds 24 to her current 6, how many balloons will they have in total if Tracy pops half of her balloons?
Answer. 35
What step-by-step reasoning justifies that answer?
Reasoning: When Brooke gets twelve more balloons, his total becomes 12 + 8 = 20. When Tracy adds 24 more balloons to her 6, her total number of balloons becomes 24 + 6 = 30. When half of Tracy's balloons pop, she remains with 1 / 2 * 30 = 15. The combined total balloons for the two is 15 + 20 = 35 balloons.