<PRE><B>Question 1162173</B>
&lt;br&gt;
Informally....&lt;br&gt;
Take away the &quot;extra&quot; 4 years and Marcus&#39;s father will be 45 instead of 49.&lt;br&gt;
Then divide that by 3 to find that Marcus&#39;s age is 15.&lt;br&gt;
Formally....&lt;br&gt;
x = Marcus&#39;s age
3x+4 = father&#39;s age&lt;br&gt;
His father&#39;s age is 4 more than 3 times Marcus&#39;s:&lt;br&gt;
{{{3x+4 = 49}}}
{{{3x = 45}}}
{{{x = 15}}}&lt;br&gt;
ANSWER: Marcus is 15.&lt;br&gt;
For the second part....&lt;br&gt;
Since Marcus is now 15 and his father is 49, his father&#39;s age was 49-15 = 34 when Marcus was born.&lt;br&gt;
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