Question 498304: Please help me solve this word problem. I'm supposed to form an equation with variables to solve the problem, but I can't seem to find a way to do it. Here is the problem: 11 years ago Max was three times as old as his son. Three years from now Max will be twice as old as his son. Find their current ages.
I've tried things like Max's son= x and Max= 3x, but that only works for 11 years ago. And then when it's 3 years from now, I can get that Max's son= x and Max= 2x, but I can't seem to turn any of that into an equation to find the current ages. Please help.
Answer by Maths68(1474)   (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! 11 years ago Max was three times as old as his son. Three years from now Max will be twice as old as his son. Find their current ages.
Let
Present age of Max = m
Present age of Son = s
11 years ago means we have to subtract 11 from their present ages
m-11=s-11
then Max was three times as old as his son
m-11=3(s-11)
m-11=3s-33
m=3s-33+11
m=3s-22 ..............(1)
Three years from now means we have to add 3 years in the present ages of both
m+3=s+3
then, Max will be twice as old as his son
m+3=2(s+3)
m+3=2s+6
m=2s+6-3
m=2s+3...............(2)
Plug in the value of m from equation (1) to (2)
3s-22=2s+3
3s=2s+3+22
3s=2s+25
3s-2s=25
s=25
Put the value of s in (2)
m=2s+3...............(2)
m=2(25)+3
m=50+3
m=53
Present age of Max = 53
Present age of Son = 25
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