SOLUTION: Sarah is 5 years older than her sister hanna. Jim is twice as old as his sister hanna. Thier combined age is 74. Write an equation that can be used to find their ages

Question 967951: Sarah is 5 years older than her sister hanna. Jim is twice as old as his sister hanna. Thier combined age is 74. Write an equation that can be used to find their ages
Found 2 solutions by josmiceli, macston:
Answer by josmiceli(19441) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Let = Hanna's age
= Sarah's age
= Jim's age
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After finding , find
and

Answer by macston(5194) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
.
A single equation cannot be written that is solvable for three variables.
.
H=Hanna's age; S=Sarah's age=H+5; J=Jim's age=2H
H+S+J=74 years Substitute for S and J.
H+(H+5)+2H=74 years
4H+5=74 years Subtract 5 years from each side.
4H=69 years Divide each side by 4
H=17.25 years ANSWER 1: Hannah is 17.25 years old.
S=H+5yrs=17.25 years+5 years=22.25 years ANSWER 2: Sarah is 22.25 years old.
J=2H=2(17.25 years)=34.5 years ANSWER 3: Jim is 34.5 years old.
.
CHECK:
H+S+J=74 years
17.25 years+22.25 years+34.5years=74 years
74 years=74 years
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