Given :-
5 years ago, Ram's mother was five times his age
Ram's Mother is now thrice as old as him.
To find :-
Present age of Ram
Present age of Ram's mother
Solution :-
Let the present age of Ram be x years
Let the present age of Ram's mother be y years.
As per the first condition,
5 years ago, Ram's mother was five times his age
5 years ago,
Ram's age = x - 5
Mother's age = y - 5
Let's represent the first condition mathematically to get our first equation.
y - 5 = 5 ( x - 5)
y - 5 = 5x - 25
5x - 25 = y - 5
5x - y = - 5 + 25
5x - y = 20 -----> 1
As per the second condition,
If his mother is now thrice as old as him
Ram's age = 3x
Mother's age = y
Let's represent this too mathematically. Here we will get just the value of one of the variables, either x or y.
y = 3x
Substitute, y = 3x in equation 1,
5x - y = 20 ----> 1
Plug in the value of y,
5x - 3x = 20
2x = 20
x =
x = 10
Present age of Ram = x = 10 years
Substitute, x = 10 in equation 1,
5x - y = 20 ---> 1
5 ( 10 ) - y = 20
50 - y = 20
- y = 20 - 50
- y = - 30
[canceling minus from both sides]
y = 30
Present age of Mother = y = 30 years
•°• Present age of Ram = 10 years.
For first case :-
5 years ago, Ram's mother was five times his age
Present age of Ram = 10 years
5 years ago,
Ram's age = 10 - 5 = 5 years
Present age of Mother = 30 years
5 years ago,
Mother's age = 30 - 5 = 25 years
Let's check if the ages satisfies the first condition,
Mother's age = 5 ( Ram's age )
25 = 5 ( 5 )
25 = 25
LHS = RHS.
For second case :-
His mother is now thrice as old as him
Mother's age = 30 years
Ram's age = 10 years
Let's check whether the second condition is satisfied or not.
Mother = 3 ( Ram's age)
30 = 3 ( 10)
30 = 30
LHS = RHS.
Hence the answer is verified.