Question

Jerry is 8 years younger than Patricia. Six years ago, Patricia was 3 times as old as Jerry was then. Which system of equations could be solved to determine the current age of each?

Answer 1

Jerry is 8 years younger than Patricia, so: (1): Jerry = Patricia - 8 Six years ago, Patricia was 3 times as old as Jerry was then, so: (2): (Patricia - 6) = (Jerry - 6)*3 Putting equation 1 in to equation 2 (Patricia - 6) = (Patricia - 8 - 6)*3 Patricia - 6 = 3Patricia - 42 36 = 2Patricia Patricia = 18 And so Jerry = 10