what does the below math rebus puzzle mean?

If in a car race, the man who came two places in front of the last man finished one ahead of the man who came fifth, how many contestants were there?

Two guards were on duty outside a barracks. One faced up the road to watch for anyone approaching from the North. The other looked down the road to see if anyone approached from the South. Suddenly one of them said to the other, "Why are you smiling?"

How did he know his companion was smiling?

There are three Athletes (John, Tarun and Harish) and their individual Coaches (Jacob, Meenaxi and Priyanka) standing on the shore.
No Coach trusts their Athlete to be near any other Coach unless they are also with them.
There is a boat that can hold a maximum of two persons.
How can the six people get across the river?

A charming young lady was approached by a kind looking old woman in a restaurant. The old woman said to her, 'You look exactly like my younger daughter. Sadly she passed away a couple of months back. Could you do me a favor and say 'Goodbye, mother' with a kind smile on your face when I leave?

The young lady agreed for the same and said, 'Goodbye, mother' when the old woman left. Soon after, she got the most disengaging shock of her life.

Can you guess what the shock was?

A family is trapped in a jungle. There is a bridge which can lead them to safety. But at one time, the bridge can only allow two people to pass through. Also, all of them are afraid of the dark and thus, they can't go alone.

Father takes 1 minute to cross, the mother takes 2 minutes, the son takes 4 and the daughter takes 5 minutes. While crossing the time taken will be according to the slower one. How can they all reach the other side in the minimum possible time?

There are nine letters in the below-given diagram. You have to form a nine-letter word using these letters.

How many bananas can you eat if your stomach is empty?

During an interview, the interviewer ordered hot coffee for the candidate to relieve the stress. The coffee was kept before him. After a minute, the interviewer asked him, 'What is before you?' He replied 'Tea'.

The candidate was selected immediately. Why?

As a whole I am both
safe and secure.

Behead me and I become
a place of meeting.

Behead me again and I am
the partner of ready.

Restore me, and I become
the domain of beasts.

What am I?