SOLUTION: The sum of the present ages of Joey and his mother is 46 years. In 4 years, Joey will be 3 years less than one half as old as his mother at that time. Find the present ages of Joey

Algebra ->  Finance -> SOLUTION: The sum of the present ages of Joey and his mother is 46 years. In 4 years, Joey will be 3 years less than one half as old as his mother at that time. Find the present ages of Joey      Log On


   

Question 1004072: The sum of the present ages of Joey and his mother is 46 years. In 4 years, Joey will be 3 years less than one half as old as his mother at that time. Find the present ages of Joey and his mother.
Answer by fractalier(6550) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Call Joey's and his mother's age NOW, j and m.
From the facts we have
j + m = 46 (or j = 46 - m)
and
j + 4 = (1/2)(m + 4) - 3
Now substitute for j in the second equation and we get
46 - m + 4 = (1/2)(m + 4) - 3
50 - m = (1/2)m + 2 - 3
50 - m = (1/2)m - 1
Collect like terms and solve
51 = (3/2)m
m = 34 years old
j = 12 years old (46-34)