SOLUTION: Berto is 5 years older than Joana. Three years ago, the sum of their ages is 21. How old are Berto and Joana now?

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Question 1190140: Berto is 5 years older than Joana. Three years ago, the sum of their ages is 21. How old are Berto and Joana now?
Answer by MathLover1(20850) About Me  (Show Source):
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let Berto’s age be B and Joana’s age J
if Berto is 5 years older than Joana, we have
B=J%2B5......eq.1
if three years ago, the sum of their ages is 21, we have
%28B-3%29%2B%28J-3%29=21
B%2BJ-6=21
B%2BJ=21%2B6
B%2BJ=27..........substitute B from eq.1
J%2B5%2BJ=27
2J=27-5
2J=22
J=11
go to
B=J%2B5......eq.1, ..substitute J
B=11%2B5
B=16
Berto is 16 and Joana is 11 now.