document.write( "<A HREF=/cgi-bin/jump-to-question.mpl?question=144256>Question 144256</A>: <I><SPAN STYLE=\"word-break: break-all;\"> john is 3 times the age his son will be next year. his wife is 20 years older than her son is this year. there combined ages total 71. how old is each person.\r<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "this is a puzzle which my father and i cant agree on. we are both mathamatically minded but disagree about the answer. he says it must be possible to answer using algebra and came up with ,john 31, wife 30 and son 10. my point is in the first sentence (sons age +1)x 3 he worked on the basis (sons age x 3) +1, here we disagree. i have tried various routes to the answer assuming there is some sort of trickery in the wording but cannot find an answer other than (son 9 now therefore could be 11 at some point next year) (therefore dad could be 33)(mother 20 years older than son is this year could be 9+20=29)therefore totalling 71. i would be dissapointed if there were no logical mathamatical answer and that it just word trickery. i would rather be wrong than dissapointed. </SPAN>\n" );
document.write( "</I><HR><TABLE width=100%><TR><TD><B><A HREF=http://www.algebra.com/>Algebra.Com's</A> Answer #105012 by </B><A HREF=/tutors/aboutme.mpl?userid=ankor@dixie-net.com><B>ankor@dixie-net.com(22740)</B></A><img src=\"/images/stars/stars-13.gif\" alt=\"\" >&nbsp;<A HREF=/tutors/aboutme.mpl?userid=ankor@dixie-net.com><IMG SRC=http://www.algebra.com/images/aboutme-small.gif BORDER=0 alt=\"About Me\" VALIGN=MIDDLE></A>&nbsp;<IMG SRC=http://www.algebra.com/cgi-bin/show-face.mpl?user=ankor@dixie-net.com><BR>You can <A HREF=\"/cgi-bin/embed-solution.mpl?show=1&solution=105012\">put this solution on YOUR website!</A><BR><SPAN STYLE=\"word-break: break-all;\"> john is 3 times the age his son will be next year. his wife is 20 years older than her son is this year. there combined ages total 71. how old is each person. <BR>\n" );
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document.write( "Let their present ages be j, s, w<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "\"john is 3 times the age his son will be next year.\"<BR>\n" );
document.write( "j = 3(s+1)<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "\"his wife is 20 years older than her son is this year.\"<BR>\n" );
document.write( "w = (s + 20)<BR>\n" );
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document.write( " \"there combined ages total 71\" (I think they mean the combined ages of John and his wife only)<BR>\n" );
document.write( "j + w = 71<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "how old is each person.<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "substitute for j and w:<BR>\n" );
document.write( "3(s+1) + (s+20) = 71<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "3s + 3 + s + 20 = 71<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "4s + 23 = 71<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "4s = 71 - 23<BR>\n" );
document.write( "s = <IMG STYLE=\"max-width:80%;\" SRC=/cgi-bin/plot-formula.mpl?expression=48%2F4 ALIGN=MIDDLE  ALT=\"48%2F4\"   DISABLED_style= \"max-width:90%; height:auto;\" ><BR>\n" );
document.write( "s = 12<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "j = 3(13) = 39<BR>\n" );
document.write( "w = 12+20 = 32<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "total age = 71<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "A rather ambiguous problem </SPAN>\n" );
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