Michael is 17 years older than john. in 4 years, the sum of there ages will be 49. find michaels present age.

29

Let John be x years old.

Michael is x+17 years old.

In four years time, the sum of their ages will be 49:

x+x+17+2(4)=49

2x=24

x=12

So Michael is 12+17=29 years old now.

step-by-step explanation:

you can add the two numbers and divide the result by 2. or you can find the gap between the two numbers and add half of this to the smaller number.