Will is 4 years older than Mike. Together, the sum of their ages equals three times Mike's age. How old is each person?

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Answer 1 · 2016-11-11T15:02:03

Mike is 4 and because Will is 4 years older Will is 8.

Let's call Mike's age $M$ .

Therefore, because Will is 4 years older than Mike his age can be described as $M + 4$

And "three times Mike's age" can therefore be written as $3M$ .

The sum of Mike's and Will's age can be written as

$M + (M + 4)$

And this is equal to $3M$ therefore:

$M + (M + 4) = 3M$

Solving for $M$ while keeping the equation balanced gives:

$M + M + 4 = 3M$

$2M + 4 = 3M$

$2M + 4 - 2M = 3M - 2M$

$M = 4$