REALLY NEED HELP WITH MATH (GRADE9)

Question

The product of the ages of a set of triplets is 12 times the sum of their ages.

Determine how old the triplets are. 

 

 

 

(we are currently learning about exponents and powers, if that helps.) 

Answer 1

Key words in word problems give you clues on mathematical functions and operations. 

 

The PRODUCT of numbers means to multiply.  

 

So the prodcut of ages of the triplets (of the same age) is n*n*n = n^3

 

It's also given, the product of the ages is equal to 12 times the sum.

 

n^3 = 12 * (n+n+n)

 

n^3 = 12 * 3n

 

Divide both sides by n

 

n^2 = 36

 

solve for n (square root of both sides)

 

n = 6

Answer 2

Let n be the age of the triplets.

n^3 = 12(n+n+n)

n^2 = 36

n = 6 years old <==Answer