Question

David found a vintage watch his father lost 38 years ago. The watch’s date showed that it had worked for over two years after his father lost it. When David found the watch, it was 3 times as old as when his father lost it. How old was the watch when David’s father lost it?

Answer 1

Let's assume the age of the watch when David's father lost it was "x" years.

According to the given information, the watch worked for over two years after his father lost it. So, the total age of the watch becomes "x + 2" years.

When David found the watch, it was 3 times as old as when his father lost it. This means the age of the watch at that time was 3 times "x".

Since the total age of the watch when David found it was the sum of the age when his father lost it and the additional years it worked, we can set up the following equation:

(x + 2) = 3x

Now, let's solve the equation to find the value of "x" (the age of the watch when David's father lost it):

x + 2 = 3x
2 = 3x - x
2 = 2x
x = 1

Therefore, the watch was 1 year old when David's father lost it.

Answer 2

Explanation:

Hey there,
Here's my reasoning regarding the problem:

Let's assume that the watch at the time it was lost was x years old.
When it was picked it was 3 times as old as it was when it was lost therefore it's currently 3x. The time between when it was lost and when it was found is 38 years. We can break this down into a simple algebraic formula:

3x - x = 38

2x = 38

x = 19