The phrase 'a quarter before' indicates that the time is 15 minutes before the hour. 

The bus picks Thomas up at

"a quarter before 8"

which translates to 15 minutes before 8 o'clock, or

7:45 AM.

Because it takes half an hour, or

30 minutes

to get to school, Thomas will arrive at school 30 minutes after 7:45 AM.

7:45 AM + 30 minutes =

8:15 AM

'a quarter after' indicates that the time is 15 minutes after the hour, so 8:15 can be read as 

a quarter after 8.

Note that there are 60 minutes in one hour.

The key word, "approximately," indicates that we must round each of these values. Let's round to the nearest tens place because each of our answer choices is rounded to the tens place.

Shoes cost $42.64. 

$42.64 rounded (down) to the nearest tens place is $40.

Pants cost $37.99.

$37.99 rounded (up) to the nearest tens place is $40.

A shirt costs $21.34.

$21.34 rounded (down) to the nearest tens place is $20.

Let's add up our estimated prices.

$40 + $40 + $20 =

$100.

Add the first two numbers as follows:

Now add this sum to the third number as follows:

Add the first two numbers as follows:

Now add this sum to the third number as follows:

When adding fractions, you must first make sure that the denominators are equal. If they are not equal, then you must make them equal by finding the LCD (lowest common denominator). In this case the LCD is 15. Now set up the new equation:

Then add the numerators to get:

Show as a mixed fraction:

Since we're looking for an approximate value, we need to round our numbers up. Adding the three items gives a total of $60.74, so at least $61 is needed - thus $61 is the correct answer.

The flat fee for the shoes will only be paid once since the shoes will be used for all four games.  The cost per game will be paid each time one game finishes and a new one is started.

To calculate her cost add the fee for the shoes and the fee for each game played.  That would be $8 (shoes) + $10.50 (game 1) + $10.50 (game 2) + $10.50 (game 3) + $10.50 (game 4) = $50 (total cost).

Laura had $50 with her so there was enough money and nothing left over when she left the bowling alley.

To solve this problem, one should round either to the tenths place, or to the nearest dollar.  can be rounded to ,  to ,  to , and  to . When one adds up the estimated costs, it yields about .

In this problem, the costs of the items can be rounded to either the nearest dollar, or the nearest ten cents. 

 and  can be rounded to  and , respectively. 

 can be rounded to , and  can be rounded to .

When the new, estimated costs of the items are added, the sum is , which is between  and  dollars.

Round each number to the nearest whole number:

Add them together:

Therefore, 15 is a valid approximation of the problem. The exact answer is: