Question

Seymour is twice as old as Cassandra. If 16 is added to Cassandra’s age and 16 is subtracted from Seymour’s age, their ages will be equal. What are their present ages?

Answer 1

Cassandra is 16 and Seymour is 48


Cassandra: Seymour:
16 48
+ -
16. 16
_____ _____
32 32
The ages are =

Answer 2

The age of Cassandra is 32 years and Seymour is 64 years old.

Explanation:

Let the age of Cassandra be x.

The age of Seymour = 2x

If 16 is added to Cassandra’s age and 16 is subtracted from Seymour’s age, their ages will be equal.

x + 16 = 2x - 16

2x - x = 16 + 16

x = 32 years

x = 32 years

The age of Seymour = 2x = 2 × 32 years = 64 years

The age of Cassandra is 32 years and Seymour is 64 years old.