Jay spent 25 + 4 + 1 = 30 dollars. He received 50 - 30 = 20 dollars in change.
The answer: 20
Reverse engineering the question: Jay bought a book for $25, a pen for $4, and a ruler for $1. He paid with a fifty-dollar bill. How much change, in dollars, did Jay get?


Reasoning and answer: The number of blocks in the second stack is 5 + 2 = 7. The number of blocks in the third stack is 7 − 5 = 2. The number of blocks in the last stack is 2 + 5 = 7. Pablo used 5 + 7 + 2 + 7 = 21 toy blocks in all.
The answer: 21
What was the question?
Question: Pablo made 4 stacks of toy blocks. The first stack was 5 blocks tall. The second stack was 2 blocks taller than the first. The third stack was 5 blocks shorter than the second stack, and the last stack was 5 blocks taller than the third stack. How many toy blocks did Pablo use in all?


First find the number of cats Carmen has left: 28 cats - 3 cats = 25 cats. Then subtract the number of dogs from the number of cats to find the difference: 25 cats - 18 dogs = 7 more cats.
The answer: 7
Reverse engineering the question: Carmen had 28 cats and 18 dogs before she gave 3 of the cats up for adoption. How many more cats than dogs does Carmen have now?


Reasoning and answer: Two sets of metal beads cost 2 x $10 = $20. Therefore, Nancy spends $9 + $20 = $29 in all.
The answer: 29
What was the question?
Question: A bead shop sells one set of crystal beads at $9 each and one set of metal beads at $10 each. Nancy buys one set of crystal beads and two sets of metal beads. How much does she spend in all?


The cost was 3 * 5 = $15. So he got 20 - 15 = $5 in change.
The answer: 5
Reverse engineering the question: Jack orders 3 sandwiches that cost $5 each. He pays with a $20 bill. How much does he get in change?


If the electricity bill costs $800, and Cheryl spends $400 more on her monthly cell phone expenses than on the electricity bill, she pays $800 + $400 = $1200 on cell phone expenses. Since the cost to enter the tournament is 20% more than Cheryl's monthly cell phone expenses, to enter the tournament, Cheryl has to pay 20 / 100 * 1200 = $240 more than her monthly cell phone expenses. The total cost of joining the golf tournament is $1200 + $240 = $1440.
The answer: 1440
Reverse engineering the question:
Cheryl is signing up for a golf tournament that costs 20% more than her monthly cell phone expenses to enter the tournament. If Cheryl spends $400 more on her monthly cell phone expenses than on the electricity bill, which costs $800, calculate the total amount she pays upon signing up for the golf tournament.