In the spelling bee, Max has 5 points, Dulce has 3 points, and Val has twice the combined points of Max and Dulce. If they are on the same team and their opponents' team has a total of 40 points, how many points are their team behind?
Max and Dulce's total combined points are 5 + 3 = 
<gadget id="calculator">5+3</gadget>
<output>8</output>
8.
So, Val got 8 x 2 = 
<gadget id="calculator">8*2</gadget>
<output>16</output>
16 points.
And the total points of their team is 8 + 16 = 
<gadget id="calculator">8+16</gadget>
<output>24</output>
24.
Therefore, their team is 40 - 24 = 
<gadget id="calculator">40-24</gadget>
<output>16</output>
16 points behind.

<result>16</result>