Steve makes 40000$ a year as a teacher. He loses 20 percent to taxes, 10 percent to healthcare, and 800$ to local union dues. How much money does Steve take home? Give the rationale and then the answer.
Let's think step by step. Taxes:40000(.20) = 8000$. Healthcare:40000(.10) = 4000$. Dues:800$. Total:40000 - 8000 - 4000 - 800 = 27,200$.. The answer is: 27200.

James buys 3 packs of candy. He pays with a $20 bill and gets $11 change. How much did each pack of candy cost? Give the rationale and then the answer.
Let's think step by step. The candy cost 20 - 11 = $9. So he pays 9 / 3 = $3 per candy.. The answer is: 3.

Martha is making centerpieces for her Thanksgiving dinner. There are six centerpieces, and each centerpiece uses 8 roses, twice as many orchids as roses, and a certain number of lilies. If Martha wants to spend $2700 total, and each flower costs $15, how many lilies will she put in each centerpiece? Give the rationale and then the answer.
Let's think step by step. First figure out how many total flowers Martha is going to buy by dividing her total spending by the price per flower: $2700 / $15 / flower = 180 flowers. Now figure out how many flowers are in each centerpiece by dividing the total number of flowers by the number of centerpieces: 180 flowers / 6 centerpieces = 30 flowers / centerpiece. Now figure out how many orchids are in each centerpiece by multiplying the number of roses per centerpiece by 2: 8 roses / centerpiece * 2 = 16 orchids / centerpiece. Now subtract the number of roses and orchids per centerpiece from the total number of flowers per centerpiece to find the number of lilies per centerpiece: 30 flowers - 16 orchids - 8 roses = 6 lilies.. The answer is: 6.