Five years ago, John’s age was half of the age he will

be in 8 years. How old is he now?

Ten years from now, Orlando will be three

times older than he is today. What is his current
age?
In 20 years, Kayleen will be four times older than she
is today. What is her current age?
John is twice as old as his friend Peter. Peter is 5
years older than Alice. In 5 years, John will be three
times as old as Alice. How old is Peter now?
John is twice as old as his friend Peter. Peter is 5
years older than Alice. In 5 years, John will be three
times as old as Alice. How old is Peter now?
How To Solve Age Problems Involving More Than One Person?

Example:
John is twice as old as his friend Peter. Peter is 5 years older than Alice. In 5
years, John will be three times as old as Alice. How old is Peter now?

Solution:
Step 1: Set up a table.

age now age in 5 yrs

John
Peter
Alice

Step 2: Fill in the table with information given in the question.

John is twice as old as his friend Peter. Peter is 5 years older than Alice. In 5
years, John will be three times as old as Alice. How old is Peter now?

Let x be Peter’s age now. Add 5 to get the ages in 5 yrs.

age now age in 5 yrs

John 2x 2x + 5
Peter x x+5
Alice x–5 x–5+5

Write the new relationship in an equation using the ages in 5 yrs.

In 5 years, John will be three times as old as Alice.

2x + 5 = 3(x – 5 + 5)
2x + 5 = 3x

Isolate variable x
x=5
Answer: Peter is now 5 years old.

Example:
John’s father is 5 times older than John and John is twice as old as his sister
Alice. In two years time, the sum of their ages will be 58. How old is John now?

Solution:
Step 1: Set up a table.

age now age in 2 yrs

John’s father
John
Alice

Step 2: Fill in the table with information given in the question.

John’s father is 5 times older than John and John is twice as old as his sister
Alice. In two years time, the sum of their ages will be 58. How old is John now?

Let x be John’s age now. Add 2 to get the ages in 2 yrs.

age now age in 2 yrs

John’s father 5x 5x + 2
John x x+2

Alice

Write the new relationship in an equation using the ages in 2 yrs.

In two years time, the sum of their ages will be 58.

Answer: John is now 8 years old.