Age Word Problem

Free interactive math game: Age Word Problem — 3× as old as.... Part of the Equations category on MathKite.

Example problems

Taken from the generator that powers this exercise. A fresh set appears every time the page is opened, and the printable worksheet holds ten of them.

  1. Lily is 5 times as old as Emma. Together they are 24 years old. How old is Emma?
  2. Tom is 5 times as old as Sarah. Together they are 90 years old. How old is Sarah?
  3. Tom is 4 times as old as Lily. Together they are 50 years old. How old is Lily?
  4. Lily is 4 times as old as Max. Together they are 50 years old. How old is Max?

About this exercise

Age puzzles solved with an equation.

How to solve it

Let one age be the unknown, write the other in terms of it, then turn the sentence about their total or difference into an equation.

Worked example

If a father is three times as old as his son and the total is 48, then 4x = 48, so the son is 12.

Common mistake

Forgetting that both ages change together. In n years, every age grows by n.