Answer the following question.
Steve has 2 boxes of pencils with 12 pencils in each box. He gave Matt 3 more pencils than he gave to Lauren. If Steve gave 6 pencils to Lauren, how many pencils does he have left?
Step-by-step reasoning process: Steve started with 2 * 12 = 24 pencils. He gave Matt 6 + 3 = 9 pencils. After giving away the pencils, Steve will have 24 – 9 – 6 = 9 pencils left.
The answer is 9.

Answer the following question.
In a single day, it rained for many hours. From 2pm to 4pm, it rained at a rate of 4 inches per hour. From 4pm to 7pm, it rained at a rate of 3 inches per hour. And from 7pm to 9pm, it rained at a rate of 0.5 inches per hour. If the rain gauge started out the day already containing 2 inches of rainwater, how many inches of water will the gauge contain at 9pm?
Step-by-step reasoning process: From 2pm to 4pm is 4 - 2 = 2 hours. Thus, from 2 - 4pm, raining at 4 inches per hour, it added 8 inches to the rain gauge. From 4pm to 7pm is 7 - 4 = 3 hours. Thus, from 4 - 7pm, raining at a rate of 3 inches per hour, it added 3 * 3 = 9 inches to the rain gauge. From 7pm to 9pm is 9 - 7 = 2 hours. Thus, from 7 - 9pm, raining at a rate of 0.5 inches per hour, it added 2 * 0.5 = 1 inch to the gauge. If the gauge originally contained 2 inches of water, by 9pm the gauge contained 2 + 8 + 9 + 1 = 20 inches of water.
The answer is 20.

Answer the following question.
Carl buys index cards for his class. He gives each student 10 index cards. He teaches 6 periods a day and each class has 30 students. If a 50 pack of index cards cost $3 how much did he spend on them all?
Step-by-step reasoning process: He has 30 * 6 = 180 students. So he needs to buy 180 * 10 = 1800 index cards. That means he needs to buy 1800 / 50 = 36 packs of index cards. So he spends 36 * 3 = $108.
The answer is 108.

Answer the following question.
Angela is a bike messenger in New York. She needs to deliver 8 times as many packages as meals. If she needs to deliver 27 meals and packages combined, how many meals does she deliver?
Step-by-step reasoning process: Let p be the number of packages Angela delivers and m be the number of meals. We know that p + m = 27 and p = 8m. Substituting the second equation into the first equation, we get 8m + m = 27. Combining like terms, we get 9m = 27. Dividing both sides by 9, we get m = 3.
The answer is 3.