Let us assume that the age of Janet's sister is = x Then the age of Janet = x + 5 Now we also know that their combined age is equal to 51 years. Then we can write the equation as x + (x + 5) = 51 2x + 5 = 51 2x = 51 -5 2x = 46 x = 46/2 = 23 So the age of Janet = x + 5 = 23 + 5 = 28 years So the age of Janet's sister is 23 and Janet's age is 28