Question

The Jackson's have two pet dogs named Beau and Max. Beau is 2 years older than Max. The sum of their ages is 16 years. How old is Beau? How old is Max.

Answer 1

• Beau is 9
• Max is 7

Explanation:

Let the dogs' ages be represented by b and m.

b + m = 16

b - m = 2

Adding these equations gives ...

2b = 18

b = 9 . . . . . . divide by 2

m = 7 . . . . . . 2 years younger than Beau

Beau is 9; Max is 7.

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Once you realize the above solution is generic, you can write down the answer that (older) Beau is half the sum of the given numbers: (16 +2)/2 = 9. Then Max's age is easily found, or it can be computed as half the difference of the given numbers: (16 -2)/2 = 7.