Question 46232
I found this problem difficult to solve.


Let x=Sally's age
Then 1/3x=Lisa's age


Six years ago Sally's age = x-6 and Lisa's age = 1/9(x-6)


Lisa's present age minus 6 years should = her age six years ago.
1/3x-6 = 1/9(x-6)
Remove the parenthesis.
1/3x-6 = 1/9x-6/9
Combining like terms.
1/3x-1/9x = 6-6/9
Using common denominators.
6/27x = 48/9
Divide both sides by 6/27.
x = 48/9 divided by 6/27 = 24


Sally is 24 and Lisa is 1/3 of 24 or 8.  Six years ago Sally was 18 and Lisa was 2.


A tough problem?