Question 1171129

Paul's age is three years older than Ruth's age. If Emma's age is twice that of Paul's age, find out Paul's age if the total of them two years ago was 51 years.
<pre>Let Paul's age be P
Then Ruth's is: P - 3, and Emma's is: 2P
If their ages summed to 51, 2 years ago, then their ages now sum to 51 + 3(2) = 57
We then get: P + P - 3 + 2P = 57
4P = 60
Paul's age, or {{{highlight_green(matrix(1,5, P, "=", 60/4, "=", 15))}}}