Answer:
Jennie is 6 2/3
Sammie is 11 2/3
Explanation:
Let s represent Sammie's age now. Then Jennie's age now is s-5. Their ages 5 years ago had the relation ...
(s) -5 = 4((s-5) -5)
s -5 = 4s -40
35 = 3s . . . . . . . add 40-s to both sides
35/3 = s = 11 2/3 . . . . divide by 3
si -5 = 11 2/3 -5 = 6 2/3
Sammie is 11 2/3, and Jennie is 6 2/3 now.
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Check:
Five years ago, their ages were 6 2/3 and 1 2/3 = 20/3 and 5/3. Sammie was 20/5 = 4 times as old as Jennie then, as required.
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Alternate solution
The difference in ages remains constant, so it was the same 5 years ago. Sammie was 4 times Jennie's age at that time, so the difference in their ages was 3 times Jennie's age. That is, 5 years was 3 times Jennie's age at that time, so Jennie was 5/3. At present, Jennie is 5/3 +5 = 20/3 = 6 2/3, and Sammie is 5 years older, so 11 2/3.