SOLUTION: When solving Exercise 20, Beth used a to represent the bride’s age and Ben used a to represent the groom’s age. Is one of these approaches preferable to the other? Why or why not?

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Question 635707: When solving Exercise 20, Beth used a to represent the bride’s age and Ben used a to represent the groom’s age. Is one of these approaches preferable to the other? Why or why not? The world’s oldest bride was 19 yr older than her groom. Together, their ages totaled 185 yr.
Answer by stanbon(75887) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
When solving Exercise 20, Beth used a to represent the bride’s age and Ben used a to represent the groom’s age. Is one of these approaches preferable to the other? Why or why not?
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The world’s oldest bride was 19 yr older than her groom. Together, their ages totaled 185 yr.
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I prefer to use "b" for bride and "g" for groom.
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Equations:
b = g + 19
b+g = 185
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Substitute for "b" and solve for "g":
g+19 + g = 185
2g = 166
g = 83 (groom's age)
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solve for "b":
b = g + 19
b = 83 + 19 = 102 (bride's age)
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Cheers,
Stan H.
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