Final answer:
To solve the problem, set up an equation using the information given. Solve the equation to find the son's current age and substitute it back to find Mr. Falcon's age.
Step-by-step explanation:
To solve this problem, we can set up an equation based on the information given. Let's represent the son's age with the variable 'x'. Since Mr. Falcon is 5 times as old as his son, we can say that his age is 5x.
Three years ago, Mr. Falcon would have been 5x - 3 years old, and his son would have been x - 3 years old. According to the information given, Mr. Falcon was 8 times as old as his son at that time, so we can set up the equation 5x - 3 = 8(x - 3). Solving this equation will give us the son's current age, which we can then substitute back into 5x to find Mr. Falcon's age. Mr. Falcon is 40 years old.