Imagine a group of five friends, each thinking of a number between 40 and 50. Here's what each of them came up with:

• Kyle, the jokester of the group, thought of 41.

• Brooklynn, always trying to be different, chose 45.

• Catalina, the mathematician, picked 47.

• Madisyn, the artist, went with 44.

• Vivian, the dreamer, selected 49.

Can you figure out which two of these friends thought of a prime number?

Imagine Tavion is a pirate who just found a treasure chest with $40 in it. After adding this to his treasure trove, he counted a total of $132 in his stash. Can you figure out how much treasure Tavion had before he added the $40?

Imagine this: Reina, a talented baker, whipped up 242 delicious cake pops and sold them for $5 each. She also baked 76 mouth-watering brownies and sold them for $3 each. All this effort was to raise money for new playground equipment. But wait, she had to spend $330 on baking supplies. The equation below represents the total money Reina was able to raise, m, after subtracting her expenses from her sales.
 

m = (5 × 242) + (3 × 76) – 330

 
Can you figure out how much money Reina collected for the playground equipment?

It's Karoline's birthday and she got a whopping $100 as a gift! She decided to celebrate by taking herself and two of her best friends to the movies. They watched a blockbuster and enjoyed some refreshing drinks.

Here's the breakdown:
     Each movie ticket was priced at $8.
     Each drink cost them $5.

Being a math whiz, Karoline quickly jotted down an equation to calculate m, the amount of money she would have left after this fun outing.
 

Here's her equation: m = 100 – [(3 × 8) + (3 × 5)]

Can you figure out how much money Karoline had left after her birthday movie outing?

Imagine you are a secret agent and you've just received a coded message:
 

 [(5 • 4 – 2) ÷ 2] ÷ (31 – 27)
 

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to decode this message. Which of the following could be the first step in your decoding process?
 

Imagine you're at Mrs. Gathright's bustling kitchen where she's preparing treats for the upcoming bake sale. She's made a whopping total of 10 dozen treats! Among them, 20 are delicious cupcakes and 50 are mouth-watering pies. The remaining treats are a mix of scrumptious brownies and cookies, in equal amounts.

Can you figure out the expression that shows Mrs. Gathright made 25 heavenly cookies? Let's solve this fun puzzle!

Imagine you are a secret agent and you've just received a coded message:

[(16 – 2 • 5) ÷ 2] ÷ (61 – 21)

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to decode this message. Which of these could be the first step in your decoding process?

Lucy has $50 in her piggy bank. She decided to buy a new book for $15 and a toy for $10. Can you calculate how much money Lucy has left after her shopping?

Here's her equation: m = 50 - (15 + 10)

Can you figure out how much money Lucy had left after her shopping?

John is a collector who just found a rare coin worth $30. After adding this to his collection, he counted a total of $90 in his collection. Can you figure out how much his collection was worth before he added the $30?

Imagine you are a detective and you've just received a mysterious equation:
 

 [(7 • 3 – 5) ÷ 3] ÷ (25 – 20)
 

Your task, should you choose to accept it, is to solve this equation. Which of the following could be the first step in your solving process?
 

Imagine this: John, a skilled artist, painted 150 beautiful portraits and sold them for $10 each. He also sketched 50 amazing landscapes and sold them for $5 each. All this effort was to raise money for a local charity. However, he had to spend $500 on art supplies. The equation below represents the total money John was able to raise, m, after subtracting his expenses from his sales.
 

m = (10 × 150) + (5 × 50) – 500

 
Can you figure out how much money John collected for the charity?

Imagine you're a detective trying to solve a mysterious case. You've found a clue in the form of a mathematical expression:

(24 ÷ 3 • 4) - (30 - 10)

Your task is to simplify this expression. Which of these could be the first step in your process?