document.write( "<A HREF=/cgi-bin/jump-to-question.mpl?question=1140360>Question 1140360</A>: <I><SPAN STYLE=\"word-break: break-all;\"> A woman is 4 times older than  her child. 5 years ago the woman was 5 times the age of the child. Find the mothers age  </SPAN>\n" );
document.write( "</I><HR><TABLE width=100%><TR><TD><B><A HREF=http://www.algebra.com/>Algebra.Com's</A> Answer #760881 by </B><A HREF=/tutors/aboutme.mpl?userid=greenestamps><B>greenestamps(13200)</B></A><img src=\"/images/stars/stars-13.gif\" alt=\"\" >&nbsp;<A HREF=/tutors/aboutme.mpl?userid=greenestamps><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=greenestamps><BR>You can <A HREF=\"/cgi-bin/embed-solution.mpl?show=1&solution=760881\">put this solution on YOUR website!</A><BR><SPAN STYLE=\"word-break: break-all;\"> <br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "Although another tutor solved the problem, it is in fact unsolvable as posed.<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "The trouble is that in everyday English the phrases \"4 times older than\" and \"4 times as old as\" are usually interpreted as meaning the same thing.  However, that is grammatically incorrect.<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "In this problem, if the child's age is 8, then \"4 times older than\" the child means 8, plus 4 times 8, or 8+32 = 40.  So grammatically \"4 times older than\" means the same as \"5 times as old as\".<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "With the correct interpretation of \"4 times older than\", this problem then says that a woman is 5 times as old as her child both now and 5 years ago.  That is not possible.<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "So in fact the problem as posed has no solution. </SPAN>\n" );
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