Q:

6 years ago jack was three times older then wade. In four years wade will be half as old as jack. How old are they now?

Accepted Solution

A:
Answer:Jack's age is 36Wade's age is 16Step-by-step explanation:Let jack's age be "j"andWade's age be "w"First, we have:6 yrs AGO, Jack was 3 times as Wade, so we can write:j-6 = 3(w-6)Then, we have:4 yrs from NOW, Wade will be HALF as Jack, so we can write:w+4 = 0.5(j+4)Lets simplify the first equation:j-6 = 3(w-6)j - 6 = 3w - 18Solving for j:j = 3w - 18 + 6j = 3w - 12Now, simplifying the second equation:w+4 = 0.5(j+4)w+4 = 0.5j+2w = 0.5j - 2Now we replace this equation with j's expression we found from first equation:w = 0.5j - 2w = 0.5(3w - 12) - 2w = 1.5w - 6 - 20.5w = 8w = 16Now, finding j:j = 3w - 12j = 3(16) - 12j = 36So, Jack's age is 36Wade's age is 16