SOLUTION: Three years ago Jim was three times as old as Tom was then. In five years Jim will be twice as old as Tom will. How old is each now

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Question 613576: Three years ago Jim was three times as old as Tom was then. In five years Jim will be twice as old as Tom will. How old is each now
Answer by radh(108) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Word problems can be confusing. Let's put it into mathematical terms, making x the variable for age.

Three years ago (-3) Jim was three times as old as Tom was then (3x). In five years (+5) Jim will be twice as old as Tom will (2x). How old is each now?

3x-3=2x%2B5 is how we would write the problem. Now, all we do is simplify the problem: simplify_cartoon%28+3%2Ax-3=2%2Ax%2B5+%29

We end up with x=8. X is Tom's age, so we know that Tom was 8. Today, he'd be 11. Let's plug that into one of the two original expressions. 3%288%29-3 to 24-3 to 21. If Jim was 21 three years ago, now he's 24.

So, your final answer is that Jim is 24 and Tom is 11. :)