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

1 Answer
Sep 25, 2017

John's present age is 8 years.

Explanation:

Let John's age be x.

Given that :
1. John's father is 5 times older than John

If y is the age of John's father, then
y = 5x

  1. John is twice as old as his sister Alice.
    So if z is age of Alice, then

x = 2z i.e. z = x/2

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

In two years.

John will be x+ 2
John's father will be y + 2 = 5x +2 and
Alice will be z + 2 = x/2 +2

Therefore
(x+2) + (5x +2) + (x/2 +2) = 58

x+2 +5x +2 + 0.5x +2 = 58

x+5x + 0.5x +2 +2 +2 = 58

6.5x +6 = 58

6.5x = 58-6

x = 52/ 6.5

x = 520/ 65

x = 8 --------John's present age.

Fathers present age y= 5x = 40 years.
Alice present age z = 0.5x = 4 years.

Answer : John's present age is 8 years.