Question 1148017
let j = the age of john
let p = the age of pat
let m = the age of mary
let s = the sum of their ages
then s = j + p + m


john is one year older than pat.
this get you j = p + 1
solve for p to get p = j - 1


mary is twice the age of john.
this gets you m = 2 * j


the sum of their ages is 63.
this gets you s = 63.
since s = j + p + m, then j + p + m = 63.
since p = j - 1 and m = 2 * j, then j + p + m = 63 becomes:
j + j - 1 + 2 * j = 63
add 1 to both sides of this equation to get:
j + j + 2 * j = 64
combine like terms to get:
4 * j = 64
solve for j to get:
j = 16


since p = j - 1, then p = 15
since m = 2 * j, then m = 32


you get:
j = 16
p = 15
m = 32


s = j + p + m becomes sum s = 16 + 15 + 32 which becomes s = 63
j = p + 1 becomes j = 15 + 1 which becomes j = 16
m = 2 * j becomes m = 2 * 16 which becomes m = 32


john is 16
pat is 15
mary is 32