Question 29968
Let E represent Ed's age
Let J represent Jen's age

The first part of the word problem says,

Ed is 5 years older than Jen: this becomes,

E = J + 5
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The second part of the word problem says,

Four times Jen's age increased by 3 years equals three times Ed's age diminished by 2 years: and this becomes,

4xJ + 3 = 3xE - 2
4J + 3 = 3E - 2
4J + 5 = 3E

now we substitute for E = J + 5 into the above eqn.

4J + 5 = 3(J + 5)
4J + 5 = 3J + 15
J = 10
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E = J + 5
E = 15
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