Question

Sam is 12 years older than Matt. Five years ago the

sum of their ages was 28. How old are they now?

Write a system of equations to represent this situation.

Define your variables

Answer 1

Answer: y=x+12

(y-5) + (x+5)=28, where x = present age of Matt ( in years).

and y= present age of Sam.

Explanation:

Let x be the present age of Matt ( in years).

and Sam's present age = y years

5 years's ago,

Sam's age = y-5 years

Matt's age = x-5 years

As per given,

y=x+12 (i)

and (y-5) + (x+5)=28 ....(ii)

Required system of equations:

y=x+12

(y-5) + (x+5)=28, where x = present age of Matt ( in years).

and y= present age of Sam.