Vick is twice the age of Quinn. Quinn is 4 years older than Paul. The sum of of their ages is 21. How old is Paul?

Question

Vick is twice the age of Quinn. Quinn is 4 years older than Paul. The sum of their ages is 21. How old is Paul? 

Answer 1

Hi Aneida,

 

Let's see what we know from the problem.

 

V = Vick's age

Q = Quinn's age

P = Paul's age

 

From the first sentence

V = 2Q

 

From the 2nd sentence

Q = P+4 or P = Q-4

 

From the 3rd sentence

V + Q + P = 21

 

Since we have both V and P in terms of Q, we can substitute those expressions in the last equation

2Q + Q + (Q-4) = 21

 

4Q - 4 = 21

4Q = 25

Q = 6.25

V = 12.5

P = 2.25

 

Paul is 2.25 years old.