Question 375389
Let one brother be A years old, the other B years old.
1.{{{B-A=8}}}
Two years ago, the first brother was {{{A-2}}} years old the other brother was {{{B-2}}} years old.
The average of their ages,2 years ago, is,
{{{((A-2)+(B-2))/2=20}}}
{{{A+B-4=40}}}
2.{{{A+B=44}}}
Add eq. 1 to eq. 2 to eliminate A and solve for B.
{{{B-A+A+B=8+44}}}
{{{2B=52}}}
{{{highlight(B=26)}}}
Then from eq. 1,
{{{26-A=8}}}
{{{highlight(A=18)}}}