Anna Whistler was asked how old she was
when her son painted her. She replied in
the form of a riddle:
If to my age there added be,
Half of it, a third of it and three times three,
Six score and ten, the sum you’ll see,
So tell me, please, what age I be?
please make it detailed
Translated into the universal language of Mathematics:
x + x/2 + x/3 + 9 = 130
11x/6 = 121
x = 66
To determine Anna Whistler's age when her son painted her, we'll need to solve the riddle.
Let's break it down step by step:
1. "If to my age there added be" - This implies that we need to start with Anna's age.
2. "Half of it, a third of it and three times three" - We need to take Anna's age and add half of it, a third of it, and three times three.
Let's assume Anna's age is represented by "x." Following these instructions, we can set up the equation:
x + (x/2) + (x/3) + 3*3
3. "Six score and ten, the sum you’ll see" - The phrase "six score and ten" refers to the number seventy (since a score is twenty). Therefore, the sum we calculated in the previous step should equal seventy.
Now, we can solve the equation:
x + (x/2) + (x/3) + 3*3 = 70
To simplify and solve for x, we'll need to find a common denominator:
6x/6 + 3x/6 + 2x/6 + 9 = 70
(6x + 3x + 2x)/6 + 9 = 70
11x/6 + 9 = 70
To isolate x, subtract 9 from both sides:
11x/6 = 70 - 9
11x/6 = 61
Now, multiply both sides by 6/11 to solve for x:
(6/11)(11x/6) = (6/11)(61)
x = (366/11)
x ≈ 33.27
Therefore, Anna Whistler was approximately 33 years old when her son painted her.