The difference between the ages of two friends is 2 years. The sum of their ages is 74 years. Find the age of the older friend.
The age of the older friend is half of the sum of the sum and the difference.
Did I give you a headache?
Age of the older friend = (74+2)/2=38
See if you can figure out how to calculate the age of the younger friend?
ida
To find the age of the older friend, let's assign variables to represent their ages. Let's say the age of the older friend is 'x' and the age of the younger friend is 'y'.
We are given two pieces of information:
1. The difference between their ages is 2 years: x - y = 2
2. The sum of their ages is 74 years: x + y = 74
We can solve this system of equations using either substitution or elimination method. Let's use substitution method to solve it:
From the first equation, we can express x in terms of y:
x = y + 2
Now, substitute this value of x into the second equation:
(y + 2) + y = 74
2y + 2 = 74
2y = 74 - 2
2y = 72
y = 72 / 2
y = 36
Now that we have the age of the younger friend, we can substitute it back into the first equation to find the age of the older friend:
x - 36 = 2
x = 2 + 36
x = 38
Therefore, the age of the older friend is 38 years.