Come up with a question and reasoning that would justify this answer: 12
Question and rationale: The question is: Mary was working on a research paper and already had borrowed 5 books from the library. 3 books weren't helpful so she returned those and checked out 5 more books. 3 days later, she went back to the library and returned 2 of those books and checked out 7 more books. How many books does Mary currently have checked out of the library?
Step-by-step reasoning process: Mary started with 5 books and returned 3 so she had 5 - 3 = 2 books. She had 2 books and checked out 5 more books so she had 2 + 5 = 7 books. She now has 7 books but returned 2 so she has 7 - 2 = 5 books. She had 5 books and checked out 7 more books so she has 5 + 7 = 12 books checked out.

Come up with a question and reasoning that would justify this answer: 15
Question and rationale: The question is: Mary went to the store to buy fruit. Apples cost $1, oranges cost $2, and bananas cost $3. For every 5 fruits that customers buy, the store offers a $1 discount. Mary buys 5 apples, 3 oranges, and 2 bananas. How much will she pay?
Step-by-step reasoning process: For 5 apples, Mary will pay 5 * 1 = 5 dollars. For 3 oranges, she will pay 3 * 2 = 6 dollars. For 2 bananas, she will pay 2 * 3 = 6 dollars. She bought 5 + 3 + 2 = 10 fruits. For 10 fruits, Mary gets a discount of 10 / 5 = 2 dollars. In total, the bill is 5 + 6 + 6 = 17 dollars. Subtracting the discount offered by the stores, Mary will pay 17 - 2 = 15 dollars.

Come up with a question and reasoning that would justify this answer: 20
Question and rationale: The question is: A boy squirrel gathers 6 walnuts and carries them to his burrow in the tree, adding to the 12 already there, and dropping 1 on the way. The girl squirrel brings 5 more walnuts to their burrow and eats 2. How many walnuts are left?
Step-by-step reasoning process: With the boy’s contribution, there are 12 + 6 = 18 walnuts. When he drops 1, now they have 18 - 1 = 17 walnuts. The girl adds to their stash, making the count 17 + 5 = 22 walnuts. When the girl eats 2, the final count is 22 - 2 = 20 walnuts.

Come up with a question and reasoning that would justify this answer: 16
Question and rationale:

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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The question is: Jason bought 4 dozen cupcakes. He plans to give 3 cupcakes each to his cousins. How many cousins does Jason have?
Step-by-step reasoning process: Since a dozen is equal to 12, then Jason bought 12 x 4 = 48 cupcakes. So, Jason has 48 / 3 = 16 cousins.