SOLUTION: Ella is 12 years older than Sue and Lola is 3 times Sue's age. The sum of their ages is 57. How old is Lola?

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Question 1185545: Ella is 12 years older than Sue and Lola is 3 times Sue's age. The sum of their ages is 57. How old is Lola?
Answer by greenestamps(13200) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!


The given information relates the ages of Ella and Lola to Sue's age. So probably the easiest setup for solving the problem is using Sue's age for the variable.

Let x = Sue's age
Then x+12 = Ella's age (12 years older than Sue)
And 3x = Lola's age (3 times Sue's age)

The sum of their ages is 57:

(x)+(x+12)+(3x)=57

Solve for x using basic algebra.

Then remember the question asks for Lola's age, which is 3x -- not just x.