Charly was about to see Maria and ask for her hand in marriage, when he met Maria's little brother. The latter told him:
Five years ago, my sister was five times as old as me; now, she's only three times as old as me.
How old is Maria ?
Let x be her little brother's age....so Maria's age now is 3x
And we're told that
5(x-5) = 3x - 5 simplify
5x - 25 = 3x - 5 add 25 to both sides and subtract 3x from both sides
2x = 20 divide both sides by 2
x = 10.....and that's the age of her brother, now
So.....Maria's age now = 3(10) = 30