SOLUTION: The Lee's have three children. The oldest is twice as old as the youngest. The middle child is five years older than the youngest. If the sum of the age is 57, how old is each chil

Algebra ->  Customizable Word Problem Solvers  -> Age -> SOLUTION: The Lee's have three children. The oldest is twice as old as the youngest. The middle child is five years older than the youngest. If the sum of the age is 57, how old is each chil      Log On

Ad: Over 600 Algebra Word Problems at edhelper.com


    

Question 700682: The Lee's have three children. The oldest is twice as old as the youngest. The middle child is five years older than the youngest. If the sum of the age is 57, how old is each child?
Answer by stanbon(75887) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
The Lee's have three children. The oldest is twice as old as the youngest. The middle child is five years older than the youngest. If the sum of the age is 57, how old is each child?
---------------------------------
Let oldest be "a"
middle be "b"
youngest be "c"
-----------------
Equations:
a = 2c
b = c+5
a + b + c = 57
----------------------------
Substitute for "a" and "b":
2c + c+5 + c = 57
4c = 52
c = 13 years (youngest)
---
a = 2c = 26 years (oldest)
----
b = c+5 = 18 years (middle)
===============================
Cheers,
Stan H.