Question: Peter needs to buy birdseed to last a week. He knows that each parakeet eats 2 grams a day. His parrots eat 14 grams a day. His finches eat half of what a parakeet eats. If he has 3 parakeets, 2 parrots and 4 finches, how many grams of birdseed does he need to buy?
Answer with step-by-step thinking: His parakeets eat 6 grams a day, because three parakeets times two grams each equals 6 grams. His parrots will eat 28 grams a day because two parrots times 14 grams equals 28 grams. Each finch will eat 1 gram a day, because they eat half of what a parakeet does and 1 / 2 of 2 equals one. His finches will eat 4 grams a day because four finches times 1 gram equals 4 grams. His birds eat 38 grams a day because 6 plus 28 plus 4 equals 38. Each week has 7 days. Therefore, in a week he will need 266 grams because 7 times 38 equals 266.
So the answer is 266.

Question: The base of a hill located beside a river is 300m above the seabed. If this depth is a quarter of the vertical distance between the riverbed and the peak of the hill, how high is the hill?
Answer with step-by-step thinking: 300m is a quarter of the distance from the riverbed to the hill's peak so (1 / 4) * distance from riverbed to peak = 300m. Multiplying both sides of the equation by 4 gives the distance from riverbed to peak = 300m * 4 = 1200m. The height of the hill is the difference between the distance from the riverbed to the hill's peak and the distance from the riverbed to the hill's base which is 1200m - 300m = 900m.
So the answer is 900.

Question: A family's water and electricity bills average $30 a month for the first 4 months and $24 a month for the last 2 months. If the family's bills were averaged over all 6 months, what would the average monthly bill be?
Answer with step-by-step thinking:
The sum of the bills of the family in the first 4 months is $30 / month x 4 months = $120. The sum of the bills of the family in the last 2 months is $24 / month x $2 = $48. The sum of the bills of the family over the 6 months is $120 + $48 = $168. Hence, their average monthly bill is $168 / 6 months = $28 / month.
So the answer is 28.