Question

mrs. johnson is 3 times as old as her son. ten years agoe she was 5 times as old as her son was then.

what is the two equations for this problem?

let x = son's age
and y = Mrs. Johnson's age.
============================
y=3x is one equation.

10 years ago Mrs. Johnson' age was y-10 and the son's age was x-10. At that time, Mrs. Johnson was 5 times older; therefore,
y-10=5*(x-10) is the second equation. Post your work if you need further assistance.

Answer 1

x=1
y=23