Can you find a five letter word that is left with only two letters if one is removed?

Find the next number in the series

12, 20, 40, 72, 116, 172 ?

As shown in the picture below, we can see a boy hanging on the tree branch to save his life. There are various ways in which he can die like1. A snake hanging toward the right waiting to bite the boy.2. A roaring Lion near the tree.3. Two crocodiles are ready to attack if the boy reaches near water. The tree is chopped to some extent, so can fall as if he moves a lot. Can you give this boy an escape plan?

John, Jack and Jill are in a desert. John doesn't like Jill and hence decides to murder him. He poisons the water supply of Jill. Since it is a desert area, Jill must drink or he will die of thirst.

Jack does not know of the actions of John and also decides to murder Jill. To succeed in his ill motives, he removes the water supply of Jill so he dies of thirst.

Jill dies due to thirst. Who murdered Jill?

You are given a set of weighing scales and 12 marbles. The scales are of the old balance variety. That is, a small dish hangs from each end of a rod that is balanced in the middle. The device enables you to conclude either that the contents of the dishes weigh the same or that the dish that falls lower has heavier contents than the other. The 12 marbles appear to be identical. 11 of them are identical, and one is of a different weight. Your task is to identify the unusual marble and discard it. You are allowed to use the scales three times if you wish, but no more. Note that the unusual marble may be heavier or lighter than the others. You are asked to both identify it and determine whether it is heavy or light

Two old friends, Jack and Jill, meet after a long time, and discussing as:

Jack: Hey, how are you, man?

Bill: Not bad, got married and I have three kids now.

Jack: That's awesome. How old are they?

Bill: The product of their ages is 72 and the sum of their ages is the same as your birth date.

Jack: Cool..But I still don't know.

Bill: My eldest kid just started taking piano lessons.

Jack: Oh, now I get it.

How old are Bill's kids?

When we see 2 but call 10?

I am soft and cuddly that soothe your heart. But, If you pick my last name I am going to tear you all apart. Who am I?

If,
29 - 1 = 30
9 - 1 = 10
14 - 1 = 15

Based on similar logic, Can you prove that the below algebraic equation is true?
11 - 1 = 10 ?

A hen, a dog, and a cat are stolen. Three suspects are arrested named Robin, Steve, and Tim. The police are sure that all of them stole one of the animals but they don't know who stole which animal.

Sherlock Holmes is appointed to identify and is provided with the following statements from the investigation.

Robin - Tim stole the hen
Steve - Tim stole the dog
Tim - Both Robin and Steve are lying. I neither stole a hen nor a dog.

Sherlock is somehow able to deduce that the man who stole the cat is telling a lie and the man who stole the hen is telling truth.

Can you help him find out who stole which animal?