Seven years ago, Jackson's age was 2/5 of the age he will be 20 years from now. How old is Jackson now?
Define variables.
x=Jackson's current age
Set the equations up by:
x-7=2/5(x+20)
solve for x
5x-35=2x+40
(I multiplied both sides by 5 and distributed the 2 to the (x+20)).
Isolate x
3x=75
ANSWER:
x=25
Now check the answer.
7 years ago from 25 would mean he was 18 which is equal to 2/5 of 20+25 which is also 18. Therefore the equation works out and Jackson is 25 right now.
To find out Jackson's current age, let's break down the given information and solve it step by step. Let's denote Jackson's current age as "x".
Seven years ago, Jackson's age was "x - 7".
Twenty years from now, Jackson's age will be "x + 20".
According to the given information, seven years ago, Jackson's age (x - 7) was 2/5 of the age he will be twenty years from now (x + 20).
Mathematically, we can represent this as an equation:
x - 7 = (2/5)(x + 20)
To solve this equation, let's multiply both sides by 5 to eliminate the fraction:
5(x - 7) = 2(x + 20)
Expanding the equation:
5x - 35 = 2x + 40
Next, let's simplify the equation by moving all terms involving x to one side:
5x - 2x = 40 + 35
Combining like terms:
3x = 75
To solve for x, divide both sides of the equation by 3:
3x/3 = 75/3
Simplifying further:
x = 25
Therefore, Jackson is currently 25 years old.