Question 840185
Amother is 4 times older then her son  5 years ago the product of thier ages was 175  find thier present ages
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4 times older = 5 times as old.
M = 5S
(M-5)*(S-5) = 175
Sub for M
(5S-5)*(S-5) = 175
(S-1)*(S-5) = 35
{{{S^2 - 6S - 30 = 0}}}
*[invoke solve_quadratic_equation 1,-6,-30]
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The son is 9.245 years
Mom is 46.225 years
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The solution is not an integer because the author of the problem doesn't know the difference between 4 times as old and 4 times older.
Is 1 times older the same as 1 times as old?
Is 100% greater 1x as much?  Or 2x?
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Don't ever mention "10 times smaller" since 1x smaller is zero.