Solving Age Word Problems

If we're correct, the left side of the equation will equal the right side of the equation. We have over 200 college courses that prepare you to earn credit by exam that is accepted by over 1,500 colleges and universities.

Let's assume that Brian is twice as old as Charlie.

Three years from now, the sum of their ages will be 33. The first step in solving this word problem is to express what we don't know as a variable.

Next, we can use algebra to solve for the unknown variable.

Finally, we can check our answer by substituting it back into our equation.

We must substitute into Jack's equation to determine his age. d d 2 = 18 If d = 8, then: 8 8 2 = 18 18 = 18 Since the left side equals the right side, Diane must be 8 years old, and Jack must be 10 years old.

Let's help Sally understand this concept by working through another example.

(c 3) (2c 3) = 33 3c 6 = 33 3c = 27 c = 9 Therefore, Charlie is 9 years old today.

We must substitute into Brian's equation to determine his current age. Therefore, Brian must be 18 years old (2c = 2 x 9).

How old will James be when his age is twice what it was 10 years after he was half his current age?

One of the things I love about "age" problems is that they require students to not just convert sentences to equations, but also to identify different time frames in which parts of the problem may occur.