Question 943985
Mrs.peele lacks 7 years from being five times as old as her son. 
6 years from now she will lack 3 years from being three times as old as her son is then.
 Find each of their ages.
:
let p = Mrs Peele's age
let s = son's age
:
Write an equation for each statement
;
"Mrs.peele lacks 7 years from being five times as old as her son."
p = 5s - 7
:
 6 years from now she will lack 3 years from being three times as old as her son is then.
p + 6 = 3(s+6) - 3
p + 6 = 3s + 18 - 3
p = 3s + 15 - 6
p = 3s + 9
replace p with (5s-7), from the 1st statement
5s - 7 = 3s + 9
5s - 3s = 9 + 7
2s = 16
s = 16/2
s = 8 yrs is the son's age
then
p = 5s - 7
p = 5(8) - 7
p = 40 - 7
p = 33 yrs is Mrs's age
:
:
Check this in the statement:
"6 years from now she will lack 3 years from being three times as old as her son is then. "
33 + 6 = 3(8 + 6) - 3
39 = 3(14) - 3
39 = 42 - 3