The sum of Bill and Ted’s ages is 29. Ted is 5 more than Bill’s age. How old is Bill?

Answer 1

Let's call Bil's age B. Ted's age is 5 more than Bill's age so, Ted's age is B+5.

The sum of their ages, is 29 so,

B + B + 5 =29

Let's combine like terms.

2B+ 5=29

Now, let's get B by itself.

Take away the 5 first. I always remember that by saying if you have to be all alone, you get rid of your far away friends before your close friends. 5 is separated from the B by a plus sign, so it should be taken away before the 2 in front of the B.

So 2B +5 - 5 =29-5

2B=24

Now, you can get the B by itself by dividing by 2.

2B/2=24/2

B=12

That means. Bill is 12 years old.

Answer 2

According to the given information, B + T = 29. And also given is that Ted's age is 5 more than Bill's. Therefore, we can write B + 5 = T. Now we can write the original equation, substituting B + 5 for T:

B + B + 5 = 29. Solving for B, we get 2B = 29 - 5, and B = (29 - 5)/2. B = 24/2 = 12. Therefore B = 12, and T = 17.