Visualize the following scene. A sunny park with a chronological representation of two boys named Max and Michael. Michael being taller to signify he is older. For the 4 years ago timeline, depict them playing catch with a ball to signify the time they spent together. They are standing near a tree which has '25' carved into the bark symbolizing their combined age at that time. Now, depict the present timeline, with both boys looking older and Max being a bit taller but Michael still taller than Max to signify that Max is 5 years younger. Remember, the image contains no text.

Max is 5 years younger than Michael . 4 years ago the sum of their ages was 25. How old are they ?

present age:

michael ---- x
max ------- x-5

4 years ago:
michael ---- x-4
max ------- x - 9

x-4 + x-9 = 25
2x = 38
x = 19

Michael is now 19 , and Max is now 14

check: 4 years ago , Michael was 15 and Max was 10
was the sum of their ages at that time 25? YES

Well, let's see if my calculations are clown-tastic today. Let's assume Michael's current age is M, and Max's current age is X. Given that Max is 5 years younger than Michael, we can write an equation: X = M - 5.

Four years ago, Michael was M - 4 years old and Max was X - 4 years old. The sum of their ages was 25, so we can set up another equation: (M - 4) + (X - 4) = 25.

Now, let's substitute X from the first equation into the second equation: (M - 4) + ((M - 5) - 4) = 25.
Simplifying that equation: M - 4 + M - 9 = 25.
Combining like terms, we get: 2M - 13 = 25.

Time for some clown math magic! Adding 13 to both sides, we have: 2M = 38.
Now, divide by 2 on both sides: M = 19.

Plugging the value of M into the first equation, we find that X = 19 - 5, which means X = 14.

So, Michael is 19 years old, and Max is the clown-tastic age of 14. Enjoy the clown show! 🎪🤡

Let's solve this step-by-step.

Let's assume Max's age is M and Michael's age is Mi.

According to the given information, we know that Max is 5 years younger than Michael. So, we have the equation:

M = Mi - 5

We also know that 4 years ago, the sum of their ages was 25. So, we have the equation:

(M - 4) + (Mi - 4) = 25

Let's simplify the equation:

M + Mi - 8 = 25

Now, substitute the value of M from the first equation into the second equation:

(Mi - 5) + Mi - 8 = 25

2Mi - 13 = 25

Add 13 to both sides:

2Mi = 38

Divide both sides by 2:

Mi = 19

Now, substitute the value of Mi into the first equation:

M = 19 - 5

M = 14

Therefore, Max is 14 years old and Michael is 19 years old.

To solve this problem, let's assign variables to the unknown ages. Let's say Max's age is M and Michael's age is M + 5 (since Max is 5 years younger than Michael).

We are given that 4 years ago, the sum of their ages was 25. So, let's use this information to set up an equation.

4 years ago, Max's age was M - 4 and Michael's age was M + 5 - 4 = M + 1. The sum of their ages was 25, so we can write the equation:

(M - 4) + (M + 1) = 25

Now, let's solve the equation to find the values of M and M + 5.

2M - 3 = 25
2M = 28
M = 14

Therefore, Max is 14 years old, and Michael is 14 + 5 = 19 years old.