SOLUTION: four years ago Samantha was 3 times as old as Danny. Four years from now, Samantha will be only twice as old as Danny. How old are they now

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Question 1083284: four years ago Samantha was 3 times as old as Danny. Four years from now, Samantha will be only twice as old as Danny. How old are they now
Answer by ankor@dixie-net.com(22740) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
s = Sam's present age
d = Dan's
:
Write an equation for each statement
" four years ago Samantha was 3 times as old as Danny."
s - 4 = 3(d - 4)
s - 4 = 3d - 12
s = 3d - 12 + 4
s = 3d - 8
:
"Four years from now, Samantha will be only twice as old as Danny."
s + 4 = 2(d + 4)
s + 4 = 2d + 8
s = 2d + 8 - 4
s = 2d + 4
:
How old are they now
s = s so we can write the equations as
3d - 8 = 2d + 4
3d - 2d = 8 + 4
d = 12 yrs is Dan's present age
I'll let you find s, check solutions in both statements