human
Marcel goes to the store with Dale to buy groceries for cooking dinner. Marcel buys 10 ears of corn, and Dale buys half that amount. Dale buys 8 potatoes and Marcel buys some, too. If they check out together and end up buying 27 vegetables, how many potatoes did Marcel buy?
assistant
How many ears of corn did Dale buy? ** Marcel bought 10 ears of corn and Dale bought 1/2 what Marcel did, 10 x 1/2 = 10/2 = <<10*1/2=5>>5 ears of corn that Dale bought.
How many vegetables did Marcel and Dale buy? ** Together, Marcel and Dale bought 10 + 5 = <<10+5=15>>15 ears of corn, or 15 vegetables.
How many vegetables did Marcel and Dale buy? ** They end up buying 27 vegetables total, and from those 27, 15 of them were corn.
How many potatoes did Marcel and Dale buy? ** The rest of the vegetables are potatoes, 27 vegetables - 15 ears of corn = <<27-15=12>>12 potatoes.
How many potatoes did Marcel buy? ** Dale bought 8 potatoes, so Marcel bought 12 - 8 = <<12-8=4>>4 potatoes.
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