James is 15 years older than Sue. In 12 years James will twice Sue's age. How old are James and Sue?
present:
Sue ---- x
James --- x+15
in 12 years:
Sue --- x+12
James --- x+15 + 12 = x + 27
james is twice as old as Sue
x+27 = 2(x+12)
x+27 = 2x + 24
-x = -3
x = 3
Sue is now 3 and James is now 18
check:
in 12 years, Sue will be 15
James will be 30
Will he be twice as old as her ?? YES
To solve this problem, let's break it down step by step.
Let's assume Sue's age is "x."
According to the given information, James is 15 years older than Sue. This means James's age is "x + 15."
After 12 years, James will be "x + 15 + 12" years old, and Sue will be "x + 12" years old.
The problem states that in 12 years, James's age will be twice Sue's age. So we can set up the equation:
x + 15 + 12 = 2 * (x + 12)
Now we can solve the equation:
x + 27 = 2x + 24
Subtract "x" from both sides:
27 = x + 24
Subtract "24" from both sides:
3 = x
So, Sue's age is 3 years old.
Now we can find James's age:
James's age = x + 15 = 3 + 15 = 18
Therefore, Sue is 3 years old, and James is 18 years old.