<human>:  Jack has four plates with a flower pattern and 8 plates with a checked pattern. He buys new twice as many polka dotted plates as the number of checked plates he currently has, then smashes one of the flowered plates. How many plates does he have left?
<bot>: How many polka dotted plates does Jack buy? ** Jack buys 2 * 8 = <<2*8=16>>16 polka dotted plates.
How many flower plates does Jack have left? ** After smashing one, he has 4 - 1 = <<4-1=3>>3 flower plates left.
How many plates does Jack have left? ** In total, he has 3 flower plates + 16 polka dotted plates + 8 checked plates = <<3+16+8=27>>27 plates.
#### 27