SOLUTION: Currently mary is three years older than sharon half of Sharon's age. In twelve years, Sharon's age will be seven more than three quarters of Mary's age. How old is mary today?

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Question 1175998: Currently mary is three years older than sharon half of Sharon's age. In twelve years, Sharon's age will be seven more than three quarters of Mary's age. How old is mary today?
Found 2 solutions by josgarithmetic, greenestamps:
Answer by josgarithmetic(39620) (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
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Currently mary is three years older than half of Sharon's age.
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Ages m Mary, x Sharon;

or

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In twelve years, Sharon's age will be seven more than three quarters of Mary's age. How old is mary today?
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---------WRONG.
It should be taken as

---------------------------------the rest of this below was wrong-------------------

.
.

Answer by greenestamps(13203) (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!

If tutor @josgarithmetic had tried solving the equation they ended up with in their response, they would have seen the answer was nonsense....

That tutor wrongly interpreted the given information "In twelve years, Sharon's age will be seven more than three quarters of Mary's age" to be comparing Sharons age 12 years from now with Mary's CURRENT age. That is not what the sentence says.

Let x = Sharon's age
Then x/2+3 is Mary's current age

x+12 = Sharon's age 12 years from now
(x/2+3)+12 = x/2+15 = Mary's age 12 years from now

Sharon's age in 12 years will be 7 more than three quarters of Mary's age 12 years from now:

Solving that equation will give you a reasonable solution from which the answer to the problem can be obtained.