Question

Today, Suzy is 17 years older than Billy, and next year she will be two times as old as Billy. How old is Suzy now? How old is Billy?

Answer 1

Let's let Billy's age equal b, and Suzy's age equal b + 17.

Next year, Billy will be one year older. So Billy's age will be b + 1.

Suzy's age will be b + 17 + 1, or b + 18.

So Suzy's age = 2(Billy's age).

b + 18 = 2(b + 1)
b + 18 = 2b + 2
b + 16 = 2b
b = 16

So Billy is 16 now. That means Suzy is 33.

Answer 2

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