<PRE><B>Question 1052279</B>
jane is 5.
tom is 2.


after how many years will the sum of their ages be equal to 33 years?


let x be that number of years.


in x years, jane will be 5 + x years old.


in x years, tom will be 2 + x years old.


in x years, the sum of their ages will be 5 + x + 2 + x which is equal to 7 + 2 * x.


if the sum of their ages is 33, then 7 + 2 * x = 33.


subtract 7 from both sides of this equation to get 2 * x = 33 - 7.


simplify to get 2 * x = 26.


divide both sides of this equation by 2 to get x = 13.


in 13 years, the sum of their ages will be 33.


5 + 13 = 18.


2 + 13 = 15


18 + 15 = 33.


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