Jennie and Bill have a combined age of 50. 16 years ago Jennie was twice as old as Bill. Jennie is x and Bill is y.

i do not understand after this

x + y = 50
(x - 16) = 2(y - 16)

but i know the answer is x = 28 and y = 22

Please help

2 answers

Jennie and Bill have a combined age of 50. 16 years ago Jennie was twice as old as Bill. Jennie is x and Bill is y.

i do not understand after this

x + y = 50
(x - 16) = 2(y - 16)

but i know the answer is x = 28 and y = 22

Please help

1--x + y = 50
2--(x - 16) = 2(y - 16) or
3--x - 2y = -16
4--Subtracting (3) from (1) yields
...3y = 66 making y = 22 and x = 28.
thankyou