Question 535595
Let x=Francine's age now; x-3=Francine's age 3 yrs ago
Then x+6=Nina's age now; x+6-3=x+3=Nina's age 3 yrs ago
Soooo, our equation to solve is:
x+3=4(x-3) get rid of parens
x+3=4x-12
subtract 3 and also 4x from each side
x-4x+3-3=4x-4x-12-3
-3x=-15
x=5----Francine's age now
x+6=5+6=11 Nina's age now

CK
"Nina is 6 yrs older than Francine is"---11-5=6---OK
"3 Yrs ago, Nina was 4 times as old as Francine"---(11-3)=4(5-3)--OK

Hope this helps---ptaylor