Question 354400

If Jon is 8 then Mr Dawson is 8*5=40 years old.
Lets say in x years, Mr Dawson will be 3 times as old as Jon, then
{{{8+x=(40+x)/3}}} (we divided right side by 3 in order to make the equations even). Now to get rid of the fraction we multiply both sides by 3,
{{{ 24+3x = 40+x }}} subtract x from each side
{{{ 24+2x = 40 }}} subtract 24 from each side
{{{ 2x = 16 }}} divide both sides by 2
{{{ x = 8 }}} So in 8 years :)