Question

Mitchell’s dog is 1/3 as old as Katie’s cat. The sum of their ages is 12 years. How old is Mitchell’s dog?

Answer 1

Mitchell's dog is 3 years old

Explanation:

9 x 1/3 = 3

9 + 3 = 12

To solve this I just thought of the multiples of three under 12 that if added to 3 are equal to 12 to find Katie's cat age. The multiples of three under 12 are 3, 6 and 9. It couldn't be 3 and 6+3=9 so it had to be 9. So if Katie's cat is 9, you just multiply 9 by 1/3 or divide it by 3 to find Mitchell's dog age.