Sue is three times as old as her sister. In one year from now, their combined ages will be 22. How old are they now?
Let the sisters age be x
then Sue is 3x
x+1 + 3x+1 = 22
Solve
X = 7:
To solve this problem, let's first assign variables to represent the ages of Sue and her sister.
Let's say Sue's current age is S, and her sister's current age is SS.
Based on the information given, we can create two equations:
1. S = 3 * SS (Sue is three times as old as her sister.)
2. (S + 1) + (SS + 1) = 22 (In one year from now, their combined ages will be 22.)
Now, let's solve the equations:
From equation 1, we can express Sue's age in terms of her sister's age: S = 3 * SS.
Substituting this value into equation 2, we get:
(3 * SS + 1) + (SS + 1) = 22
4 * SS + 2 = 22
4 * SS = 20
SS = 5
Now, we know that Sue's sister is currently 5 years old. Using equation 1, we can find Sue's age:
S = 3 * 5
S = 15
Therefore, Sue is currently 15 years old, and her sister is currently 5 years old.