Imagine a question and stream-of-consciousness explanation for which this is the answer: 24
Question: A bag of dozen apples costs $14 and Brian has already spent $10 on kiwis and half that much on bananas. What's the maximum number of apples Brian can buy if he left his house with only $50 and needs to pay the $3.50 subway fare each way?
Stream-of-consciousness: Brian requires a total of $3.50 + $3.50 = $7 to pay for the round trip subway fare. We also know he has spent half (1 / 2) the amount he spent on kiwis on bananas, so he'll spend (1 / 2) * $10 = $5 on bananas. So far in total he has spent $7 for his subway fare + $5 on bananas + $10 on kiwis = $7 + $5 + $10 = $22. If he left his house with only $50, then all he will have left for apples would be $50 - $22 = $28. If a bag of apples costs $14, then Brian would only be able to buy a maximum of $28 / $14 = 2 bags of apples. If each bag of apples has a dozen (12) apples, then (2) two bags will have 12 * 2 = 24 apples.