Benny bought 8 new baseball cards to add to his collection. the next day his dog ate half his collection. there are now only 36 cards left. how many did he start with? answer in equation

The first week samantha learned to read braille, she could read 10 words per minute. in the second week she increased her speed by 20%. in the third week she increased her speed again by another 25%. how many words could she read per minute by the third week? hurry and tell me!