John climbs up 9 flights of stairs. Each flight is 10 feet. If each step is 18 inches, how many steps does he climb up? Give the rationale and then the answer.
Let's think step by step. He has to climb 9 * 10 = 90 feet. That means he needs to climb 90 * 12 = 1080 inches. That means he needs to climb 1080 / 18 = 60 stairs.. The answer is: 60.

Danny is bringing his sailboat out to the ocean. When he uses his 24 square foot sail he goes 50 MPH. When he uses his 12 square foot sail he goes 20 MPH. He plans to travel 200 miles. How many hours faster is the bigger sail than the smaller one? Give the rationale and then the answer.
Let's think step by step. The bigger sail will make the trip in 4 hours because 200 / 50 = 4. The smaller sail will make the trip in 10 hours because 200 / 20 = 10. The bigger sail will be 6 hours faster because 10 - 4 = 6.. The answer is: 6.

During the most recent voyage of the Starship Conundrum, the spacecraft traveled from Planet X to Planet Y in eight hours less than twice the number of hours in a typical earth day. If the distance between these two planets is 4,000 parsecs, what was the average speed, in parsecs per hour, of the Starship Conundrum during this most recent voyage? Give the rationale and then the answer.
Let's think step by step. Twice the number of hours in a typical earth day is 24 * 2 = 48 hours. Eight hours less than twice the number of hours in a typical earth day is 48 - 8 = 40 hours. If the distance between these two planets is 4,000 parsecs, then the average speed on this voyage was 4000 / 40 = 100 parsecs per hour.. The answer is: 100.