1/4 of morolake's age nine years ago is the same as 1/5 of her age next year. How old is Morolake's now?

1 answer

Let's denote Morolake's current age as \( x \).

According to the problem, we know that:

\[ \frac{1}{4} \text{ of her age nine years ago} = \frac{1}{5} \text{ of her age next year} \]

First, we express Morolake's age nine years ago and next year in terms of \( x \):

  • Her age nine years ago: \( x - 9 \)
  • Her age next year: \( x + 1 \)

Now we can set up the equation based on the information given:

\[ \frac{1}{4}(x - 9) = \frac{1}{5}(x + 1) \]

To eliminate the fractions, we can multiply both sides of the equation by 20 (which is the least common multiple of 4 and 5):

\[ 20 \cdot \frac{1}{4}(x - 9) = 20 \cdot \frac{1}{5}(x + 1) \]

This simplifies to:

\[ 5(x - 9) = 4(x + 1) \]

Now, we'll distribute on both sides:

\[ 5x - 45 = 4x + 4 \]

Next, we can isolate \( x \) by subtracting \( 4x \) from both sides:

\[ 5x - 4x - 45 = 4 \]

This simplifies to:

\[ x - 45 = 4 \]

Now, add 45 to both sides:

\[ x = 49 \]

Thus, Morolake's current age is:

\[ \boxed{49} \]