Ben and Michael are brothers. Ben is four times as old as Michael and their combined ages are 25. How old is Ben?

7.9 Age Word Problems

One application of linear equations is what are termed age problems. When solving age problems, generally the age of two different people (or objects) both now and in the future (or past) are compared. The objective of these problems is usually to find each subject’s current age. Since there can be a lot of information in these problems, a chart can be used to help organize and solve. An example of such a table is below.

the answer is d)to persuade the troops that she is a capable commander