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The age A is 5 years more than that of B. 5 years ago the ratio of their ages was 3:2.Find their present age

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Answer:

  • A is 20
  • B is 15

Explanation:

You want the present ages of A and B if A is 5 years older, and 5 years ago the ratio of their ages was 3:2.

Ratio

The difference in ratio units is 3-2 = 1. The difference in their ages is 5 years, so 1 ratio unit corresponds to 5 years.

5 years ago, their ages were 3·5 : 2·5 = 15 : 10.

Now, their ages are ...

A = 20

B = 15

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Additional comment

If you like, you can write an equation for their ages:

(a-5)/(a-5-5) = 3/2

2(a -5) = 3(a -10) . . . . . cross multiply

2a -10 = 3a -30 . . . . . . simplify

20 = a . . . . . . . . . . . . add 30-2a

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User Vinay Lodha
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