Pamela is 8 yrs younger than John. In 5 yrs the sum of their ages will be 40. What is their present ages
John is X yrs. old.
Pamela is (X-8) yrs. old.
5x + 5(x-8) = 40.
X = ?, (x-8) = ?.
The numbers don't add-up; check your problem for typos.
John --- x
Pam ----- x-8
in 5 years:
John --- x+5
Pam --- x-8+5 = x-3
x+5 + x-3 = 40
2x = 38
x = 19
john is now 19 and Pam is 11
check:
in 5 years:
John is 24, Pam is 16
sum = 24+16 = 40
My answer is correct
Thanks, Reiny! I see my mistake now: I should have added instead of multiplying.
To solve this problem, let's use algebra.
Let's represent John's present age as "J" and Pamela's present age as "P."
The problem states that Pamela is 8 years younger than John, so we can write an equation:
P = J - 8 (Equation 1)
The problem also states that in 5 years, the sum of their ages will be 40. So we can write another equation:
(J + 5) + (P + 5) = 40 (Equation 2)
Now, let's solve the equations to find the values of J and P.
Substituting the value of P from Equation 1 into Equation 2, we get:
(J + 5) + (J - 8 + 5) = 40
2J + 2 = 40
2J = 40 - 2
2J = 38
J = 38 / 2
J = 19
Now, substitute the value of J into Equation 1 to find P:
P = 19 - 8
P = 11
Therefore, John's present age is 19 years old, and Pamela's present age is 11 years old.