My age is 3 times as much as my brother's age. Both our ages together is 42. How old am I? How old is my brother?

Question

I am 3 times older than my brother. Both our ages are 42. How old is my brother? How old am I?

Answer 1

Generally speaking,you would not need Algebra to determine your age and that of your brother.

 

In your statement you have contradictory data, because "BOTH OUR AGES ARE 42" does not mean that the SUM OF your ages is 42.

 

Assuming brother is b years old, then you are 3b y.o and the total is 4b = 42.  This would mean brother is 10.5 y.o. and you are 31.5 y.o.

Answer 2

Just stay organized, Anika, and these problems aren't as tough as they pretend to be. 

My age:      3X

Bro's age:    X

All you have to do now is make an equation out of the information you have.

My Age + Bro's Age = 42

    3X     +      X         = 42

             4X                = 42

             4X / 4          = 42 / 4

                    X           = 10.5

This is an unusual question; normally, the ages are integers. Still, there is nothing illegal about being this old. Now that we know bro's age, we triple it to get yours: 3* 10.5 = 31.5