SOLUTION: the tomb of Diophantus here lies a great man. Mathematically his life is heroen inscribed for all to witness: One-quarter of his life was spent as a boy and a young man. then whe

Question 101190: the tomb of Diophantus
here lies a great man. Mathematically his life is heroen inscribed for all to witness:
One-quarter of his life was spent as a boy and a young man. then when 1/7 of his life had passed he entered into matrimony, and 5 years later a son was born to him . Alas! when his son had reached only 1/2 his father's allotted time on this earth, death took him into its arms. to console himself while grieving over his son's death, he explired then discovered this science of numbers during a period of 4 years, after which, Diophantus passed on to a better world.
What was his life span?
Answer by jim_thompson5910(21684) (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Let x=his age when he died (ie his life span)

Translate the following word problem

Multiply both sides by the LCD 28 to make every number a whole number

Start with the given equation

Combine like terms on the left side

Subtract 140 from both sides

Subtract 28x from both sides

Combine like terms on the left side

Divide both sides by -3 to isolate x

Reduce

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Answer:
So our answer is (which is in decimal form)

So the father was about 47 when he died