Question: Spike the bearded dragon eats crickets to get protein in his diet. He hunts 5 crickets every morning and three times that over the afternoon and evening, munching on leafy greens and other vegetation in between. How many crickets does Spike hunt per day?
Answer: Spike hunts 3 * 5 = 15 crickets in the afternoon and evening. Hence, he hunts 5 + 15 = 20 crickets per day. The answer is 20.

Question: A group of bedbugs infested an old mattress. Every day, the number of bedbugs would triple. After four days, there were 810 bedbugs burrowing into the mattress. How many bedbugs did the group start with?
Answer: On the third day, there were one - third of the number of bedbugs as the fourth day, so there were 810 / 3 = 270 bedbugs. On the second day, there were one - third of the third day’s bedbugs, so there were 270 / 3 = 90 bedbugs. On the first day, there were 90 / 3 = 30 bedbugs in the group to start with. The answer is 30.

Question: Tom bought 10 packages of miniature racing cars. Each package contains five cars. He gave each of his two nephews 1/5 of the cars. How many miniature racing cars are left with Tom?
Answer: Tom had 10 x 5 = 50 miniature racing cars. Tom gave 50 x 1 / 5 = 10 miniature racing cars to each of his two nephews. So, he gave a total of 10 x 2 = 20 cars to his two nephews. Therefore, Tom is left with 50 - 20 = 30 miniature racing cars. The answer is 30.

Question: Marcus can fit 5 pies in his oven at once. He bakes 7 batches of pies, then slips and drops 8 of them. How many pies are left?
Answer:
First find the total number of pies Marcus bakes: 5 pies / batch * 7 batches = 35 pies. Then subtract the number of pies Marcus drops: 35 pies - 8 pies = 27 pies. The answer is 27.