John's weight bench can support 1000 pounds. He wants to make sure to stay 20% under that weight for safety. If he weighs 250 pounds how much weight can he put on the bar?
Let's think: He wants to stay 1000 * .2 = 200 pounds under the max. So he wants to stay under 1000 - 200 = 800 pounds. That means he can put 800 - 250 = 550 pounds on the bar.. The answer is: 550.

Haley is making cider. It takes 20 golden delicious apples and 40 pink lady apples to make one pint of cider. Each of her 6 farmhands can pick 240 apples per hour and will work 5 hours today. How many pints of cider can Haley make with the apples gathered today, provided that the ratio of golden delicious apples to pink lady apples gathered is 1:2?
Let's think: First figure out how many apples total are needed for one pint of cider: 20 golden delicious / pint + 40 pink lady / pint = 60 apples / pint. Then multiply that number by 8 to find the number of apples needed for a gallon of cider: 60 apples / pint * 8 pints / gallon = 480 apples / gallon. Now find how many apples per hour all 8 farmhands pick: 240 apples / hour / farmhand * 6 farmhands = 1440 apples / hour. Then multiply that amount by the number of hours worked to find the total number of apples gathered: 1440 apples / hour * 5 hours = 7200 apples. Divide the total number of apples gathered by the number of apples used by gallon to find the number of gallons of cider made: 7200 apples / 480 apples / gallon = 15 gallons. Since there are 8 pints in a gallon, the final answer is 15 gallons * 8 pints / gallon = 120 pints.. The answer is: 120.

Jerry works five days a week as a waiter and earns a variable amount of tips every night. The past four nights, he earned $20, $60, $15, and $40. How much does he need to earn tonight if he wants to make an average of $50 in tips per night?
Let's think: The total money Jerry needs to make for 5 days to get $50 per night is 5 nights * $50 / night = $250. His total earnings for the past four days is $20 + $60 + $15 + $40 = $135. So, Jerry needs to earn $250 - $135 = $115 in tips tonight.. The answer is: 115.

At the bookstore, Sarah bought 6 paperback books and 4 hardback books. Her brother bought one-third as many paperback books as Sarah bought, and two times the number of hardback books that she bought. How many books did her brother buy in total?
Let's think:
Her brother bought 6 / 3 = 2 paperbacks. He bought 4 * 2 = 8 hardbacks. In total he bought 2 + 8 = 10 books.. The answer is: 10.