Answer the following question.
At an auction event, the price of a TV, whose cost was $500, increased by 2/5 times its initial price. The price of a phone, which was $400, also increased by 40% from its original price. If Bethany had taken both items to the auction, calculate the total amount she received for the items after the sale at the auction.
Step-by-step reasoning process: If the TV's original price was $500, at the auction, its price increased by 2 / 5 * $500 = $200. The total price at which the TV was sold at the auction is $500 + $200 = $700. The price of the phone also increased at the action, a 40% increase which is 40 / 100 * $400 = $160. The total price that the phone was sold for after the auction is $400 + $160 = $560. In total, the TV and the phone sold for $700 + $560 = $1260 at the auction.
The answer is 1260.

Answer the following question.
Maurice had only been horseback riding a handful of times in his life. His best friend, Matt, goes horseback riding regularly. When Maurice went to visit Matt for two weeks, he rode another 8 times. Each time, Matt went with him. Meanwhile, besides the times that Matt accompanied Maurice, he rode an additional 16 times. If the total number of times Matt rode during that two weeks is three times the number of times Maurice had ridden before his visit, how many times had Maurice been horseback riding before visiting Matt?
Step-by-step reasoning process: During the two weeks, Matt rode a total of 16 times + 8 times = 24 times. Before his visit, Maurice had ridden 24 times / 3 = 8 times.
The answer is 8.

Answer the following question.
Daisy is climbing trees all around her neighborhood and starts to notice the number of branches and the height. The first tree she climbs is 50 feet tall and has 200 branches. The second tree she climbs is 40 feet tall and has 180 branches. The third tree she climbs is 60 feet tall and has 180 branches. The final tree she climbs is 34 feet tall and has 153 branches. On average, how many branches do these trees have per foot?
Step-by-step reasoning process: The first tree has 4 branches per foot because 200 / 50 = 4. The second tree tree has 4.5 branches per foot because 180 / 40 = 4.5. The third tree has 3 branches per foot because 180 / 60 = 3. The fourth tree has 4.5 branches per foot because 153 / 34 = 4.5. The total branches per foot is 16 because 4 + 4.5 + 3 + 4.5 = 16. The average branches per foot is 4 because 16 / 4 = 4.
The answer is 4.

Answer the following question.
A gecko eats 70 crickets every three days. The first day she eats 30% of the crickets. The second day she eats 6 less than the first, and the third day she finishes up the remaining crickets. How many crickets does she eat on the third day?
Step-by-step reasoning process: Day 1:70(.30) = 21 crickets. Day 2:21 - 6 = 15 crickets. Day 3:70 - 21 - 15 = 34 crickets.
The answer is 34.