The sum of Jocelyn and Joseph's age is 40. In 5 years, Joseph will be twice as Jocelyn's present age

Discussion in 'Calculator Requests' started by math_celebrity, Mar 27, 2021.

  1. math_celebrity

    math_celebrity Administrator Staff Member

    The sum of Jocelyn and Joseph's age is 40. In 5 years, Joseph will be twice as Jocelyn's present age. How old are they now?

    Let Jocelyn's age be a
    Let Joseph's age be b.

    We're given two equations:
    1. a + b = 40
    2. 2(a + 5) = b + 5
    We rearrange equation (1) in terms of a to get:
    1. a = 40 - b
    2. 2a = b + 5
    Substitute equation (1) into equation (2) for a:
    2(40 - b) = b + 5
    80 - 2b = b + 5

    To solve this equation for b, we type it in our search engine and we get:
    b (Joseph's age) = 25

    Now, substitute b = 25 into equation (1) to solve for a:
    a = 40 - 25
    a (Jocelyn's age) = 15
     

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