Final answer:
To find out how many years older a mother is than her daughter when she is four times as old as her daughter, we set up the equation m = 4d and find that the mother is three times the daughter's current age years older than her daughter.
Step-by-step explanation:
If a mother is m years old, and she is four times as old as her daughter, then to find how many years older the mother is than the daughter, we need to set up an equation based on the information provided.
Let the age of the daughter be d years. According to the question, the mother's age is four times the daughter's age. So, we have the equation:
m = 4d
To determine how many years older the mother is, we subtract the daughter's age from the mother's age:
Age difference = m - d
Since m = 4d, we can substitute 4d for m in the age difference equation:
Age difference = 4d - d
Age difference = 3d
This means that the mother is three times the daughter's age years older than her daughter.