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Jerry is 7 years older than Jennifer. In three years, Jerry will be twice as old as Jennifer. Let Jerry be X Let Jennifer be Y. What is their present ages.

User Brooksbp
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Final answer:

Using a system of equations, we found that Jerry is currently 11 years old, and Jennifer is 4 years old, based on the given information that Jerry is 7 years older than Jennifer and will be twice her age in three years.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student's question involves determining the present ages of Jerry and Jennifer using a system of equations. We let Jerry's age be X and Jennifer's age be Y. The first equation is X = Y + 7, because Jerry is 7 years older than Jennifer. The second equation is X + 3 = 2(Y + 3), which represents that in three years, Jerry will be twice as old as Jennifer.

So, let's solve this system of equations step-by-step:

  1. Write down the given equations:

    X = Y + 7 (1)

    X + 3 = 2(Y + 3) (2)
  2. Substitute the value of X from equation (1) into equation (2):

    Y + 7 + 3 = 2(Y + 3)
  3. Simplify and solve for Y:

    Y + 10 = 2Y + 6

    10 - 6 = Y

    Y = 4
  4. Now that we have Y, plug it back into equation (1) to find X:

    X = 4 + 7

    X = 11

Therefore, Jerry is 11 years old and Jennifer is 4 years old currently.

User Martin Serrano
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