Age problems

The purpose of this lesson is to show you how to solve Age problems.

Problem 1

Kevin is 4 years older than Margaret.

Next year Kevin will be 2 times as old as Margaret.
How old is Kevin?

Solution

Let be Kevin's present age.

Then Margret's present age is .

Next year Kevin will be years old, and Margaret will be years old.

Since next year Kevin will be 2 times as old as Margaret, you can write the equation
.

Solve this equation by simplifying it step by step:

(after brackets opening at the right side)

(after moving variable terms to the right and constant terms to the left)
(after combining like terms)

Thus you got that Kevin's present age is years.

Check.

If Kevin's present age is 7 years, then Margaret is years old now.

Next year Margaret will be 4 years old, while Kevin will be 8 years old, which means that next
year Kevin will be 2 times as old as Margaret.
The solution is correct.

Answer. Kevin is 7 years old now.

Problem 2

Ann is 2 years older than Betty.

Last year Ann was 2 times as old as Betty.
How old is Ann?

Solution
Let be Ann's present age.
Then Betty's present age is .

Last year Ann was years old, and Betty was years old.

Since last year Ann was 2 times as old as Betty, you can write the equation
.

Solve this equation by simplifying it step by step:

(after brackets opening at the right side)

(after moving variable terms to the right and constant terms to the left)
(after combining like terms)

Thus you got that Ann's present age is years.

Check.

If Ann's present age is 5 years, then Betty is years old now.

Last year Ann was 4 years old, while Betty was 2 years old, which means that last year Ann was
2 times as old as Betty.
The solution is correct.

Answer. Ann is 5 years old now.

Problem 3
Susan is 3 years older than Tom. Two years ago Susan was twice as old as Tom.
Find their present ages.

Solution
Let be Tom's age 2 years ago.
Then Susan's age was 2 years ago.

Tom's present age is .

Susan's present age is .

Since Susan is 3 years older than Tom, you can write the equation
.

Solve this equation by simplifying it step by step:

(after combining like terms at the right side)
(after moving variable terms to the right and constant terms to the left)
(after combining like terms)

Thus you got that Tom was years old two years ago.
Hence, Susan was years old at that time.
At present, Tom is years old, and Susan is years old.
Answer. At present, Tom is 5 years old, and Susan is 8 years old.

Problem 4
Jerry is 7 years older than Jennifer. In three years Jerry will be twice as old as Jennifer.
Find their present ages.

Solution

Let be Jennifer's present age.

Then Jerry's present age is .

In three years Jennifer's age will be , while Jerry's age in three years will be .
Since in two years Jerry will be twice as old as Jennifer, you can write the equation
.

Solve this equation by simplifying it step by step:

(after brackets opening at the right side)
(after moving variable terms to the right and constant terms to the left)
(after combining like terms)

Thus you got that Jerry's present age is years.

Hence, Jennifer's present age is years.

In three years, Jerry will be years old, while Jennifer will be years old.
Answer. At present, Jerry is 4 years old, and Jennifer is 11 years old.

Problem 5
A man has a daughter and a son.
The son is three years older than the daughter.
In one year the man will be six time as old as the daughter is now.
In ten years the man will be fourteen years older than the combined ages of his children at that time.
What is the man's present age?

Solution

Let the daughter's present age.

Then the son's present age is .

Since in one year the man will be six time as old as the daughter is now, the man's present age is
.
In ten years the man's age will be , while the daughter's age will be and the son's
age will be .

Since in ten years the man will be fourteen years older than the combined ages of his children at that
time, you can write an equation
 .

Solve this equation by simplifying it step by step:

(after combining like terms at the right side)
(after moving variable terms to the right and constant terms to the left)
(after combining like terms)
.

Thus, you got that the daughter's present age is years.

Hence, the son's present age is years, and the man's present age is .

Answer. At present, the man is 41 years old.

Five years ago, Johns age was half of the age he will be in 8 years. How old is he now?

Solution:

Step 1: Let x be Johns age now. Look at the question and put the relevant expressions above it.

Step 2: Write out the equation.

Isolate variable x

Answer: John is now 18 years old.

Some solved examples on Algebra Age problems

1) The present age of Jacobs father is three times that of Jacob. After 5 years, sum of their ages
would be 70 years. Find their present ages.

Solution :
Let Jacobs age = x years

His fatherss age = 3x years

After 5 years

Jacobs age = x + 5

Fathers age = 3x + 5

Sum of their age = 70

X + 5 + 3x + 5 = 70

4x + 10 = 70

4x = 60

X = 15

Jacobs age = 15 years and his fathers age = 3(15) = 45 years

Example 1:

Solve the following age problems.

Mike is 18 years old. The sum of the ages of Mike and Peter is 39.
How old is Peter?

Mike = 18 Mike is 18 years old.

Mike + Peter = 39 The sum of the ages of Mike and Peter is 39.
18 + Peter = 39 Substitute
Peter = 39 - 18
Peter = 21

Peter is 21 years old. The answer is .

21

Example 2:

Solve the following age problems.

8 years from now Mary will be 19 years old. The current sum of the ages of Mary and Jose is 41.
How old is Jose right now?

Mary + 8 = 19 After 8 years, Mary will be 19 years old.

Mary = 19 - 8
Mary = 11 Right now, Mary is 11 years old.

Mary + Jose = 41 The current sum of the ages of Mary and Jose is 41.
11 + Jose = 41 Substitute
Jose = 41 - 11
Jose = 30
Jose is 30 years old right now. The answer is .
30

Example 3:

Solve the following age problems.

5 years from now Kate will be 48 years old. In 10 years, the sum of the ages of Kate and Sharon will
be 90.
How old is Sharon right now?

Kate + 5 = 48 After 5 years, Kate will be 48 years old.

Kate = 48 - 5
Kate = 43 Right now, Kate is 43 years old.

(Kate + 10) + (Sharon + 10) = 90 In 10 years, the sum of the ages of Kate and Sharon will be 90.
(43 + 10) + (Sharon + 10) = 90 Substitute
Sharon + 63 = 90
Sharon = 90 - 63
Sharon = 27

Sharon is 27 right now. The answer is .

27

Example 4:

Solve the following age problems.

13 years from now David will be twice as old as Pearl. The current sum of the ages of David and
Pearl is 19.
How old is Pearl right now?

David + Pearl = 19 The current sum of the ages of David and Pearl is 19.
David = 19 - Pearl David's age in terms of Pearl's age.

David + 13 = 2 (Pearl + 13) 13 years from now, David will be twice as old as Pearl.
(19 - Pearl) + 13 = 2 (Pearl + 13) Substitute
32 - Pearl = 2(Pearl) + 26
32 = 3(Pearl) + 26
6= 3(Pearl)
2= Pearl

Pearl is 2 years old right now. The answer is .

2
 In three more years, Miguel's grandfather will be six times as old as Miguel was last
year. When Miguel's present age is added to his grandfather's present age, the total
is 68. How old is each one now? Copyright Elizabeth Stapel 2000-2011 All Rights
Reserved

This exercise refers not only to their present ages, but also to both their ages last year and
their ages in three years, so labelling will be very important. I will label Miguel's present age as
"m" and his grandfather's present age as "g". Then m + g = 68. Miguel's age "last year"
was m 1. His grandfather's age "in three more years" will be g + 3. The grandfather's "age
three years from now" is six times Miguel's "age last year" or, in math:

g + 3 = 6(m 1)

This gives me two equations with two variables:

m + g = 68
g + 3 = 6(m 1)

Solving the first equation, I get m = 68 g. (Note: It's okay to solve for "g = 68 m", too. The
problem will work out a bit differently in the middle, but the answer will be the same at the end.)
I'll plug "68 g" into the second equation in place of "m":

g + 3 = 6m 6
g + 3 = 6(68 g) 6
g + 3 = 408 6g 6
g + 3 = 402 6g
g + 6g = 402 3
7g = 399
g = 57

Since "g" stands for the grandfather's current age, then the grandfather is 57 years old.
Since m + g = 68, then m = 11, and Miguel is presently eleven years old.

One-half of Heather's age two years from now plus one-third of her age three years ago
is twenty years. How old is she now?

This problem refers to Heather's age two years in the future and three years in the past. So I'll
pick a variable and label everything clearly:

age now: H
age two years from now: H + 2
age three years ago: H 3

Now I need certain fractions of these ages:

one-half of age two years from now: ( 1/2 )(H + 2) = H/2 + 1

one-third of age three years ago: ( 1/3 )(H 3) = H/3 1
The sum of these two numbers is twenty, so I'll add them and set this equal to 20:
H
/2 + 1 + H/3 1 = 20
H
/2 + H/3 = 20
3H + 2H = 120
5H = 120
H = 24

Heather is 24 years old.