Q: Billy is counting the rings in two trees. Weather fluctuations in this area mean that each tree's rings are in groups of two fat rings and four thin rings. If Billy counts 70 ring groups in the first tree and 40 ring groups in the second tree, how much older is the first tree? (Trees grow 1 ring per year.)
A: First find the total number of rings in a ring group: 2 rings + 4 rings = 6 rings. Then subtract the number of ring groups in the second tree from the number in the first tree to find the difference: 70 groups - 40 groups = 30 groups. Then multiply that number by the number of rings in a group to find the difference in the trees' ages: 30 groups * 6 rings / group = 180 rings, or 180 years. The answer is 180.

Q: John works a job that offers performance bonuses. He makes $80 a day and works for 8 hours. He has the option of working hard to earn the performance bonus of an extra $20 a day, but the extra effort results in a 2-hour longer workday. How much does John make per hour if he decides to earn the bonus?
A: First, we need to determine the length of John's workday if he decides to earn the bonus. We do this by performing 8 + 2 = 10 hours for his workday. Next, we need to determine his overall pay. We do this by performing 80 + 20 = 100 dollars a day. We then determine John's hourly rate by dividing his pay by the number of hours worked, performing 100 / 10 = 10 dollars an hour. The answer is 10.

Q: Keanu was surfing towards the shore at a speed of 20 miles per hour. A shark was swimming alongside him, riding the same wave, when it doubled its speed and moved away from Keanu. There was a pilot fish swimming alongside Keanu and the shark, and when the shark increased its speed, the pilot fish also increased its speed and moved away from Keanu, but only increasing its speed by half as much as the shark had increased its speed by. What speed, in miles per hour, was the pilot fish swimming when it moved away from Keanu?
A:
The shark went from 20 miles per hour to a speed of 2 * 20 = 40 miles per hour. The shark increased its speed by 40 - 20 = 20 miles per hour. Half of the shark's increase in speed is 20 / 2 = 10 miles per hour. Thus the pilot fish had increased its speed to 20 + 10 = 30 miles per hour. The answer is 30.