Question

The sum of the ages of three children is 32.The ages of the oldest is twice the age of the youngest. The two older children differ by 3 years what is the age of the youngest child

Answer 1

Answer:the youngest child is 7 years old

Step-by-step explanation:

Let x represent the age of the youngest child.

Let y represent the age of the middle child.

Let z represent the age of the oldest child.

The sum of the ages of three children is 32. It means that

x + y + z = 32 - - - - - - - - - - - 1

The ages of the oldest is twice the age of the youngest. It means that

x = 2z

z = x/2

The two older children differ by 3 years. It means that

y = x - 3

Substituting z = x/2 and y = x - 3 into equation 1, it becomes

x + x - 3 + x/2 = 32

2x - 3 + x/2 = 32

Crossmultiplying,

4x - 6 + x = 64

5x = 64 + 6 = 70

x = 70/5 = 14

z = x/2 = 14/2

z = 7