Question

find me ages of three cousins. Andrews five times the age of Matthew. Sarah is two years younger than Andrew. The sum of their ages is 42

Answer 1

Andrews age ---- a

Sarahs age ------s

Mattews age ---m

a=5m

s=a-2 =5m-2

a+ s +m=42

we can rewrite the equation above in terms of m

5m+5m-2+m=42

sum all the terms with m, and all the terms without m

11m=42+2

11m=44

m=4

Andrew's age 5(4)=20

Sarah's age 20-2=18

Mattew's age 4