the mother is four times older than her daughter. The sum of their ages 6 years ago was 48. How old are they now?
Let's start by assuming that the daughter's age is x.
According to the first statement, the mother is 4 times older than her daughter, so the mother's age is 4x.
Six years ago, the daughter was x - 6 years old and the mother was 4x - 6 years old.
The sum of their ages 6 years ago was 48, so we can set up the equation: (x - 6) + (4x - 6) = 48.
Simplifying the equation, we have 5x - 12 = 48.
Adding 12 to both sides, we get 5x = 60.
Dividing both sides by 5, we find x = 12.
So, the daughter is currently 12 years old, and the mother is 4 times older, which means she is 4 * 12 = 48 years old.