SOLUTION: Samuel is seven years older than his sister Bella. In two years, he will be twice as old as she. how old are they now?

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Question 1181492: Samuel is seven years older than his sister Bella. In two years, he will be twice as old as she. how old are they now?
Answer by greenestamps(13200) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!


Informally....

The difference between their ages is 7 years.
So when Samuel is twice as old as Bella, their ages will be 14 and 7.
Since that will be 2 years from now, their current ages are 12 and 5.

Formally....

s = Bella's age now
s+7= Samuel's age now
s+2 = Bella's age in 2 years
s+9 = Samuel's age in 2 years

Samuel's age in 2 years will be twice Bella's age then:

s+9 = 2(s+2)

Solve for s using basic algebra; then the answers are s and s+7.