A woman is three times as old as her son. Her son is 15 now. How old was the woman when her son was born?

Answer 1

Let's say w = woman's age and s = son's age.

Because the woman is three times older than her son:

w = 3s.

Her son is 15, so s = 15. Therefore w = 3(15) = 45.

Her son was born 15 years ago. If she is 45 years old now, then she was 30 years old when he was born (45 - 15 = 30). Hope this helps!

Answer 2

Correct Answer: She was 30 years old.

The woman is currently three times as old as her son which means, if her son is 15 years old, then she is 45 years old because 15 three times (or 15 x 3) is 45.

To go back to the time that the son was born (0 years old), we have to go back 15 years. "Going back" 15 years means we are going to "subtract" 15 years from their ages. If the boy is 15 years old now and we "go back" 15 years, then we get 15-15=0 years old. Now for the mom, if she is currently 45 years old and we "go back" 15 years, then 45-15=30. So the mom was 30 years old at the time that her son was born.