If Patrick spent 20 minutes watching cartoons before asking the elf, and the elf gave him a magical box that took 10 minutes to open, how many minutes passed before Patrick started to do his homework?

Step-by-step solution

1. Add the minutes Patrick spent on cartoons: 20 minutes.
2. Add the minutes to open the box: 10 minutes.
3. Compute 20 + 10 to get 30 minutes.
4. Thus, 30 minutes passed before he began his homework.

Concept tested: Simple addition

Published 10 October 2026 · How this solution was prepared and checked