Question: Shelly and Sam love to go deep sea fishing for swordfish. Each time they go deep sea fishing, Shelly catches 2 less than five swordfish, and Sam catches one less swordfish than Shelly. If Sam and Shelly go fishing 5 times, how many swordfish do they catch in total? Think carefully first, then make a decision:
Shelly catches 2 less than five swordfish each time they go fishing, for a total of 5 - 2 = 3 fish per trip. Sam catches one less swordfish than does Shelly on each trip, or a total of 3 - 1 = 2 swordfish per trip. Together, they catch a total of 3 + 2 = 5 swordfish on each trip. If Sam and Shelly go fishing 5 times, they catch a total of 5 * 5 = 25 swordfish. So the answer is 25.