Question

Caroline is 12 years older than Nick. Mark is 4 years younger than Nick. If the total of their ages is 44, how old is the youngest of them?

Answer 1

Hi there,

Make Nick's age = x

Caroline's age = x + 12

Mark's age = x - 4

x + (x + 12) + (x - 4)

Remove brackets

x + x + 12 + x - 4 = 44

Collect like terms

3x = 44 - 12 + 4

3x = 36

x = 12

Mark is 8 yrs old

Nick is 12 yrs old

Caroline is 24 yrs old

Youngest is Mark = 8 years old.

Hope this helps :-)

Answer 2

Hi there, Youngest is Mark = 8 years old.

Explanation:

Make Nick's age = x

Caroline's age = x + 12

Mark's age = x - 4

x + (x + 12) + (x - 4)

Remove brackets

x + x + 12 + x - 4 = 44

Collect like terms

3x = 44 - 12 + 4

3x = 36

x = 12

Mark is 8 yrs old

Nick is 12 yrs old

Caroline is 24 yrs old

Youngest is Mark = 8 years old.

Hope this helps :-