Answer:
Explanation:
Let R represent Ralph's age, and let S represent Sara's age.
"Ralph is 3 times as old as Sara" becomes
R = 3S
"In 4 years, Ralph will be only twice as old as Sara will be then" becomes
R - 4 = 2S
***it's negative 4 because they are 4 years away from this relationship, so Ralph is 4 years short of being twice Sara's age***
Solve the second equation for R...
R = 2S + 4
Now since they are both equal to R, they are equal to each other, so we have....
3S = 2S + 4 now solve for S...
S = 4
Since Sara is 4 now, Ralph is
R = 3(4) = 12 years old now