SOLUTION: When John is 20 years old, his brother Jim is 8 years old. In how many years' time will he be 5 times as old as his brother Jim?

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Question 892866: When John is 20 years old, his brother Jim is 8 years old. In how many years' time will he be 5 times as old as his brother Jim?
Answer by josgarithmetic(39616) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
j for older broth
b for brother

Each starts as j=20 and b=8.

Some number of years pass, y. At that time, their ages become:
20+y for older brother (John)
8+y for brother (Jim)

highlight_green%2820%2By=5%288%2By%29%29, the question.

y%2B20=5y%2B40
-4y=20
y=-5
This will not happen going forward in time.
John is already 2.5 times older than Jim. The ratio will only decrease as y increases.

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