In 2002 Lamal was 21 years old. In 2005 Jamal will be three times as old as Malcolm.

a) How old will Malcolm be in 2005

b) How old was Malcolm in 2002?

a. (21 + 3)/3

To answer these questions, we can use a system of equations.

Let's start with the information given:

In 2002, Lamal was 21 years old. This means that in 2005, Lamal will be 21 + (2005 - 2002) = 24 years old.

In 2005, Jamal will be three times as old as Malcolm. Let's assume Malcolm's age in 2005 is represented as M.

Therefore, Jamal's age in 2005 will be M x 3.

Now, let's answer the questions:

a) How old will Malcolm be in 2005?

To answer this, let's use the information that in 2005, Jamal will be three times Malcolm's age.

M x 3 = Jamal's age in 2005

Since Jamal's age in 2005 is 24, we can divide both sides of the equation by 3 to find Malcolm's age:

M x 3 = 24
M = 24 / 3
M = 8

So, Malcolm will be 8 years old in 2005.

b) How old was Malcolm in 2002?

To answer this, we need to find the difference in years between 2002 and 2005, and then subtract that from Malcolm's age in 2005.

Malcolm's age in 2005 is 8.

The difference in years between 2002 and 2005 is: 2005 - 2002 = 3.

Therefore, to find Malcolm's age in 2002, we subtract the difference in years from his age in 2005:

Malcolm's age in 2002 = 8 - 3 = 5

So, Malcolm was 5 years old in 2002.