If Leah is 6 yr.s older than sister, Sue, & John is 5 yrs. older than Leah, and the total of their ages is 41. How old is Sue? Still having problems setting the problem up. Have hit a brick wall. Any suggestions?
Have you tried algebra?
Let J = John's age
L = Leah's age = J - 5
S = Sue's age = L -6
L + S + J = 41
Next make these substitutions into the above equation to get rid of L and J in that equation. Use
J = 5 + L = S + 11
L = S + 6
Then you can solve for S.
Yes, algebra is a great approach to solve this problem. Let's break it down step by step:
1. Let J be John's age.
2. According to the given information, Leah is 6 years older than Sue. So, Leah's age is S + 6, where S represents Sue's age.
3. It is also mentioned that John is 5 years older than Leah. Therefore, John's age is (S + 6) + 5, which simplifies to S + 11.
4. The total of their ages is given as 41, so we can write the equation: (S + 6) + (S + 11) + J = 41, where J represents John's age.
Now, let's substitute the values of J and L into the equation to eliminate J and L:
(S + 6) + (S + 11) + J = 41
(S + 6) + (S + 11) + (S + 11) - 5 = 41 [substituting J = S + 11 and L = S + 6]
3S + 23 = 41
Now, solve for S:
3S + 23 = 41
3S = 41 - 23
3S = 18
S = 18 / 3
S = 6
Therefore, Sue is 6 years old.