I can never do word problems...please help!!!!
Larry is 8 yrs older than his sister.In 3 yrs, hr will be twice as old as she will be then.how old is each now?
use x to represent his sisters age
his sister is x so larry is x+8
in 3 years the sister will be x+3 and larry will be 2x+3 because he is twice as old as her plus 3 years and then solve
x+8=2x+3
the answer is 5 his sister is 5 and he is 13
To solve the word problem, we need to set up equations based on the given information and then solve them.
Let's first define the variables:
- Let's call Larry's current age "L" and his sister's current age "S".
First piece of information:
"Larry is 8 years older than his sister."
This can be translated into an equation:
L = S + 8
Second piece of information:
"In 3 years, he will be twice as old as she will be then."
In 3 years, Larry's age will be L + 3, and his sister's age will be S + 3. The equation can be written as:
L + 3 = 2(S + 3)
Now, we have two equations:
1) L = S + 8
2) L + 3 = 2(S + 3)
To solve these equations, we can use substitution method or elimination method. Let's use substitution method:
Substitute equation 1) into equation 2) by replacing L with (S + 8):
(S + 8) + 3 = 2(S + 3)
S + 11 = 2S + 6
Simplify the equation:
11 - 6 = 2S - S
5 = S
Now that we know S = 5, we can substitute this value back into equation 1) to find Larry's age:
L = S + 8
L = 5 + 8
L = 13
Therefore, Larry is currently 13 years old and his sister is currently 5 years old.