Question

Tom is 4 years older than Jerry. Nine years ago, Tom was 5 times as old as Jerry was then. How old is each now?

Answer 1

Let x be the age of Tom now.
''Tom is 4 years older than Jerry.'', what is the age of Jerry now? @jungbunny

Answer 2

wait but how do you set up the equation?

Answer 3

Just do it step by step. Can you tell me if Tom is x years old now, how old is Jerry?

Answer 4

hi,
can you take jerry's present age be x
then tom is four years older that implies tom's age is (x+4)
after that talk about nine years before age of both of them..
are you following..?

Answer 5

yup

Answer 6

nine yearss before,
jerry should be of age nine less than his present age , which implies jerry is (x-9) years old then..

Answer 7

let's talk about tom, his age must also be 9 less than his present age..
all followed ..?

Answer 8

yes

Answer 9

now, they have in question given a relation relating tom's and jerry's age nine years before...
saying that "Tom was 5 times as old as Jerry was then"

Answer 10

so you simply write it in equation form !!

Answer 11

okay, tom's age nine years before = (x+4)-9
do you agree..?

Answer 12

yes

Answer 13

here's the equation !
tom's age nine year before = five times( jerry's age nine years before)
this means
(x+4)-9 = x_9
solve this...

Answer 14

sorry that's minus and not underscore in above equation !

Answer 15

ok

Answer 16

hopefully you understood !!

Answer 17

you have to use distributive proberty right?

Answer 18

for what ?
you know how to solve lenear equations , right ?

Answer 19

not really...i don't remeber how to.

Answer 20

i'm sorry the equatin is
(x+4)-9= 5(x-9)
i missed a nine !
and yes darling your right use distributive property !

Answer 21

thank you

Answer 22

:) you're welcome