Question 1209951
<br>
I read the problem differently than the other tutor....<br>
"When Joe was 13 years old Tara was 1/3 of his current age."  I read that to mean Tara's age when Joe was 13 years old is one-third  of TARA'S age now.<br>
Starting with that....<br>
Let x = Tara's age when Joe was 13
Then 3x = Tara's age now<br><pre>

   Tara   Joe
  ------------
    3x     ??   their ages now
     x     13   their ages when Joe was 13</pre>
When Tara was 3 years old, Joe was 1/3 of Tara's current age.<br><pre>

   Tara   Joe
  ------------
    3x     ??   their ages now
     x     13   their ages when Joe was 13
     3      x   their ages when Tara was 3</pre>
The difference between their ages is constant:<br>
13-x = x-3
16 = 2x
x = 8<br><pre>

   Tara   Joe
  ------------
    24     ??   their ages now
     8     13   their ages when Joe was 13
     3      8   their ages when Tara was 3</pre>
Joe is 5 years older than Tara, so...<pre>

   Tara   Joe
  ------------
    24     29   their ages now
     8     13   their ages when Joe was 13
     3      8   their ages when Tara was 3</pre>
ANSWERS: Tara is now 24; Joe is 29<br>
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Note on proper English....<br>
"How old are they now?"<br>
or<br>
"How old is each of them now?"<br>
but not<br>
"How old are each of them now?"<br>