Q: Mabel lives 4500 steps directly east of Lake High school. Helen lives 3/4 the number of steps that Mabel lives, directly west of the school. What's the total number of steps Mabel will walk to visit Helen so that they can do their assignments together?
A: Helen lives 3 / 4 * 4500 = 3375 steps directly west of Lake High. To reach Helen, Mabel would have to walk to 4500 + 3375 = 7875 steps. The answer is 7875.

Q: There are 12 more green apples than red apples in a bowl. There are 16 red apples. How many apples are there in the bowl?
A: Green = 16 + 12 = 28. Green + Red = 28 + 16 = 44. There are 44 apples in the bowl. The answer is 44.

Q: 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?
A:

Show your work and conclude with the exact phrasing "Therefore, the final answer is [answer]." where [answer] is just the final number or expression that solves the problem.
user
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.