document.write( "Question 1101153: Claire's brother is 3 years older than her. Her mother is 4 times older than her. Their combined age is 57. By constructing an equation, calculate how old her brother is \n" ); document.write( "
Algebra.Com's Answer #715720 by greenestamps(13200)![]() ![]() You can put this solution on YOUR website! \n" ); document.write( "With the problem as stated, there is no solution, because the ages all turn out to be mixed numbers. Age problems should have solutions that are positive integers. \n" ); document.write( "The difficulty is in the statement that Claire's mother is 4 times older than Claire. \"4 times older than x\" means x, plus x 4 more times, or 5x. But trying to solve the problem that way gives ages that are not whole numbers. \n" ); document.write( "So the statement of the problem should say that Claire's mother is 4 times AS OLD AS Claire -- not 4 times older. \n" ); document.write( "Once we have gotten past the incorrect statement of the problem, we have \n" ); document.write( "x = Claire's age \n" ); document.write( "x+3 = her brother's age \n" ); document.write( "4x = her mother's age \n" ); document.write( "Then since the sum of the ages is 57, \n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( "The brother's age is 9+3 = 12. \n" ); document.write( " |