Age Word Problems

When Larry was 14 years old, his father was 37. Now that Larry's father is twice as old as Larry, how old is Larry?

Answer explanation

L = 14

F = 37 an unkown amount of years, x, in the past.

Currently, F + x = 2(L + x)

37 + x = 2(14 + x) = 28 + 2x

x = 37 - 28 = 9 years

Larry is current 14 + x = 14 + 9 = 23 years old

Maria is now 16 years old. In 6 years, she will be twice as old as her brother is then. How old is her brother now?

• 5

• 6

• 8

• 11

Answer explanation

If Maria is 16 now, in 6 years she will be 22. Since she will then (in 6 years) be twice as old as her brother, he will be 11 (in 6 years). To find his present age, subtract 6 from 11. Thus, he is now 5 years old.

Judy is n years older than Carmen and twice as old as Frances. If Frances is 15, how old is Carmen in terms of n?

Answer explanation

Translate text information to proper equations or math relationships. e.g. J = C + n. Compute values for certain variables from data provided. e.g. F=15, J = 2 × F = 2 × 15 = 30. Solve for required variable.

C = J - n = 30 - n

If Kate's age is 13 and her mother's age is 31, in how many years will Kate's age once again be the reverse of her mother's?

Answer explanation

The two ages are reverse digits now and they will be the reverse again when we add the same units and tens digit. The lowest number with the same two digits is 11 at which point their ages will be 24 and 42; reverse digits.

Eva lived 1/5 of her life as a child, 1/4 as a girl and 1/3 as a working adult. She then spent her final 13 years in retirement. How old was Eva when she died?

Answer explanation

1/3 + 1/4 + 1/5 = 20/60 + 15/60 + 12/60 = 47/60 of her life occurred before retirement. Retirement was 13 years which was the last 13/60 of her life. It is probably obvious at this point she lived until 60, but completing the ratio problem.

13/60 = 13/Age ...so Age = (13/13) × 60 = 60

Lindsey is now x years old and Xiu Dan is 2 years older than Lindsey. In terms of x, how old was Xiu Dan 3 years ago?

Answer explanation

If Lindsey is now x years old and Xiu Dan is 2 years older, he is now x + 2. Therefore, 3 years ago his age was x + 2 - 3, or x - 1.

Danielle's mom is 3 less than four times her daughter's age. If M is her mother’s age, what is Danielle’s age in terms of M?

Answer explanation

Danielle's age can be represented by variable D. If her mother's age M is 3 less than 4 times D then M = 4D - 3.

We need to solve for D in terms of M in order to answer the question.

4D = M + 3

D = (M + 3)/4

Malcolm is 3 times as old as Anthony and is also 8 years older than Anthony. How old is Malcolm?

• 12

• 4

• 15

• 8

• 10

Aaliyah is 7 times as old as AJ. 4 years ago, Aaliyah was 15 times as old as AJ. How old is AJ now?

• 7

• 49

• 8

• 52

• 5

Adam is 20 years younger than Brian. In two years Brian will be twice as old as Adam. How old are they now?

• Brian is 18, Adam is 38

• Adam is 18, Brian is 38