Problema Solution

mark is five years younger than ina. next year, the sum of their ages will be 39. how old are they now?

Answer provided by our tutors

Let

x = the present age of Mark

y = the present age of Ina

Mark is 5 years younger than Ina:

x = y - 5

The sum of their ages last year was 39:

(x - 1) + (y - 1) = 39

We have the following system of equations:

x = y - 5

(x - 1) + (y - 1) = 39

........

click here to see the system of equations solved for x and y

........

x = 18 years

y = 23 years

Mark is 18 years old now.

Ina is 23 years old now.