SOLUTION: A year ago Denise was 4 times as old as her brother Bryan. This year she is only 3 times as old as Bryan. How old were Denise and Bryan last year?
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Question 214917: A year ago Denise was 4 times as old as her brother Bryan. This year she is only 3 times as old as Bryan. How old were Denise and Bryan last year? Answer by stanbon(75887) (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! A year ago Denise was 4 times as old as her brother Bryan. This year she is only 3 times as old as Bryan. How old were Denise and Bryan last year?
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Let Bryan's age NOW be "B".
Let Denise's age NOW be "D".
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Equations:
(D-1) = 4(B-1)
D = 3B
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Substitute for D to solve for B:
(3B-1) = 4(B-1)
3B-1 = 4B-4
B = 3 (Bryan's age NOW)
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Substitute to solve for "D":
D = 3B = 3*3 = 9 (Denise's age NOW)
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Bryan's age last year was B-1 = 2
Denise's age last year was D-1 = 8
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Cheers,
Stan H.
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