It’s 2021 and Mark was born in 1976 so Mark is 2021 - 1976 = 45 years old. Graham is 3 years younger than Mark who is 45 so Graham is 45 - 3 = 42 years old. Janice is 1 / 2 the age of Graham who is 42 so Janice is 42 / 2 = 21 years old.
The answer: 21
Reverse engineering the question: It’s February 2021. Mark was born in January 1976. Graham is 3 years younger than Mark, and Graham’s sister, Janice, is 1/2 the age of Graham. How old is Janice?


Reasoning and answer: The first week she walked 1 mile, 6 days a week for a total of 1 * 6 = 6 miles. The second week she walked 2 miles, 6 days a week for a total of 2 * 6 = 12 miles. The third week she walked 3 miles, 6 days a week for a total of 3 * 6 = 18 miles. On the fourth week, she walked 4 miles, 6 days a week for a total of 4 * 6 = 24 miles. Over four weeks she has walked 6 + 12 + 18 + 24 = 60 miles.
The answer: 60
What was the question?
Question: Jodi starts off walking 1 mile a day for 6 days a week. On the second week, she walks 2 miles a day, 6 days a week. On the third week, she walks 3 miles a day, 6 days a week. Finally on the fourth week, she walks 4 miles a day, 6 days a week. How many miles has she walked in 4 weeks?


Carl saved in 6 weeks $25 / week x 6 weeks = $150. On the seventh week, he ended up having to pay in bills $150 / 3 = $50. His savings were then $150 - $50 = $100. His dad gave him $170 – $100 = $70.
The answer: 70
Reverse engineering the question: Carl wants to buy a new coat that is quite expensive. He saved $25 each week for 6 weeks. On the seventh week, he had to use a third of his saving to pay some bills. On the eighth week, his dad gave him some extra money for him to buy his dream coat. If the coat cost $170, how much money did his dad give him?


Reasoning and answer: Ken paid $60 x 3 = $180 to rent a sailboat for 3 hours in a day. Aldrich paid $80 x 3 = $240 to rent a ski boat in 3 hours in a day. So Aldrich paid $240 - $180 = $60 more to rent a ski boat than Ken to rent the sailboat each day. Therefore, it cost Aldrich $60 x 2 = $120 more to rent a ski boat than Ken to rent the sailboat in two days.
The answer: 120
What was the question?
Question: It will cost $60 to rent a sailboat and $80 per hour to rent a ski boat. Ken rented a sailboat while Aldrich rented a ski boat. How much more did it cost Aldrich to rent the ski boat than Ken to rent a sailboat for three hours a day in two days?


First, find how many servings one corn plant produces by multiplying the number of carrot servings by 5: 4 servings * 5 = 20 servings. Then find how many servings one green bean plant produces by dividing the number of corn servings by two: 20 servings / 2 = 10 servings. Now multiply the number of servings per carrot plant by the number of carrot plants: 4 servings / plant * 9 plants = 36 servings. Do the same for corn: 20 servings / plant * 9 plants = 180 servings. And do the same for green beans: 10 servings / plant * 9 plants = 90 servings. Now add up the servings for all three types of plant: 36 servings + 180 servings + 90 servings = 306 servings.
The answer: 306
Reverse engineering the question: Jimmy is setting up a garden. He has three plots: one plot for green beans, one plot for carrots, and one plot for corn. Each corn plant produces 5 times as many servings of veggies as each carrot, and each green bean plant produces half as many servings as each corn plant. If each carrot produces 4 servings of vegetables, and each plot has 9 plants, how many servings of vegetables is Jimmy growing?


The first 8 years cost 8 * 10,000 = $80,000. The next 18 - 8 = 10 years. They cost 10000 * 2 = $20,000 per year. So they cost 20,000 * 10 = $200,000. So the cost was 200,000 + 80,000 = $280,000. Adding in the cost of tuition brings the cost to 250,000 + 280,000 = $530,000. Since John pays for half the cost of raising the child, he pays $530000 / 2 = 265000.
The answer: 265000
Reverse engineering the question:

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.
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John pays for half the cost of raising a child. It cost $10,000 a year for the first 8 years and then twice that much per year until the child is 18. University tuition then costs $250,000. How much did it cost?