SOLUTION: The sum of Kims age and her mothers age is 36. Kims mother is five times older then Kim. How old is each person?

Algebra ->  Customizable Word Problem Solvers  -> Age -> SOLUTION: The sum of Kims age and her mothers age is 36. Kims mother is five times older then Kim. How old is each person?      Log On

Ad: Over 600 Algebra Word Problems at edhelper.com


    

Question 1141808: The sum of Kims age and her mothers age is 36. Kims mother is five times older then Kim. How old is each person?
Found 2 solutions by josgarithmetic, greenestamps:
Answer by josgarithmetic(39616) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
k, Kim's age
k+5k, Mother's age

k%2B%28k%2B5k%29=36

Answer by greenestamps(13198) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!


"5 times older than Kim" means Kim's age, plus 5 more times Kim's age. That is, "5 times older than" means "6 times AS OLD AS".

So if Kim is x years old, then her mother is 6x years old. Then the problem says the sum of their ages is 36:

x%2B6x+=+36
7x+=+36
x+=+36%2F7

This is not a whole number, as it must be; so the statement of the problem is faulty.

Now rewrite the problem correctly to say that Kim's mother is 5 times AS OLD AS Kim; then when you solve the problem by the method shown above you will get a valid solution.