Question 1047041: Brian is 4 years older than Michelle. Five years ago the sum of their ages was 48. How old are they now? Found 2 solutions by Boreal, fractalier:Answer by Boreal(15235) (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! Brian is x
Michelle is x-4
five years ago, Brian was x-5 and Michelle x-9.
Those two add to 48
x-5+x-9=48
2x-14=48
2x=62
x=31
Brian is 31, Michelle is 27 now
Five years ago, they were 26 and 22 respectively, and that sum is 48.
You can put this solution on YOUR website! Call their ages NOW, b and m.
Then we write
b = m + 4
Now five years ago, we had
(b-5) + (m-5) = 48
We can plug in for b and get
(m+4-5) + (m-5) = 48
(m-1) + (m-5) = 48
2m - 6 = 48
2m = 54
m = 27 years old
and then
b = 31 years old
