Mike's age, decreased by the age of his 4 year old sister is 11. Mikes age, increased by his uncle's age is 53. How old is Mike's uncle?
m-4=11
m+u=53
now just find u
To solve this problem, we need to set up two equations based on the given information.
Let's assume Mike's age is represented by the variable 'M' and his sister's age is represented by the variable 'S'. Also, let's represent Mike's uncle's age with the variable 'U'.
From the first piece of information, we can set up the equation:
M - S = 11.
This equation represents Mike's age, decreased by the age of his 4-year-old sister, equals 11.
From the second piece of information, we can set up the equation:
M + U = 53.
This equation represents Mike's age, increased by his uncle's age, equals 53.
Now, we have a system of two equations:
M - S = 11,
M + U = 53.
To solve this system, we can use the method of substitution or elimination.
Let's solve it using the substitution method:
From the first equation, we can express M in terms of S: M = 11 + S.
Now substitute this value of M into the second equation:
(11 + S) + U = 53.
Simplifying, we get:
11 + S + U = 53.
Rearranging the terms:
S + U = 53 - 11,
S + U = 42.
Now we have a new equation, S + U = 42.
Unfortunately, we can't determine the exact ages of Mike's sister and uncle with the given information. We have two unknown variables, S and U, but only one equation involving these variables.