SOLUTION: Walk me through the steps because its hard to understand. Melissa is 24 years younger than Joyce. in two years Joyce will be three times as old as Melissa will be. How old are

Algebra ->  Customizable Word Problem Solvers  -> Age -> SOLUTION: Walk me through the steps because its hard to understand. Melissa is 24 years younger than Joyce. in two years Joyce will be three times as old as Melissa will be. How old are       Log On

Ad: Over 600 Algebra Word Problems at edhelper.com


    

Question 734955: Walk me through the steps because its hard to understand.
Melissa is 24 years younger than
Joyce. in two years Joyce will be three times as old as Melissa will be. How old are they now?
Answer by josgarithmetic(39618) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
m = Melissa's age now.
j = Joyce's age now.

m=j-24, Melissa is 24 years younger than Joyce.

m+2 = Melissa in two more years
j+2 = Joyce in two more years

%28j%2B2%29=3%2A%28m%2B2%29, Joyce will be three times as old as Melissa in two years

You have a system of two linear equations:
m=j-24 AND j%2B2=3%2A%28m%2B2%29
Hopefully that is enough for you to finish, and in fact is most of the solution process, that of analyzing and setting up the equations. Now just solve the system for j and m.