I need the algebra sentence for the following problem..Adam is 3 times as old as Cynthia and Fred is 16 years younger than Adam. One year ago, Adam's age was twice the sum of Cynthia's and Fred's age.Find their present age.

1 answer

Let Adam=x, Cynthia=y and Fred=z
We have: x=3y, z=x-16 , x-1=2(y-1+z-1)
so x=3y, x=z+16 and x=2y+2z-3
3y=z+16 so z=3y-16
Also,
3y=2y+2z-3 so y=2z-3 = 2(3y-16)-3=6y-35 so 5y=35 and y=7, z=3(7)-16=5 and x=3(7)=21