Ben is 20 years older than Daniel. Ben and Daniel first met two years ago. Three years ago, Ben was 3 times as old as Daniel. How old is Daniel now?
+738 Hi guest!
This problem was a bit confusing for me - is "Ben and Daniel first met two years ago." extraneous information? It seems like it to me...
Well anyways, let's start.
We know that
\(B=20+D\) (since Ben is 20 years older than Daniel)
\(B-3=3D-3\) (since 3 years ago, Ben was thrice Daniel's age)
Now all we have to do it plug it in.
\(B=20+D\)
\(B=3D\)
\(20+D=3D\)
\(D=10\)
\(D+3= \text{his age now}\)
Daniel is now 13.
+37146 B = 20 + D
B-3 = 3(D-3) or -B + 3 = -3D+9 add to first equation
3 = -3D+9 + 20 + D
-26 = -2D D = 13
