Debbie is 5 years older than Susan. in 2 years, Susan will be half the age of Debbie. How old is Susan now?

Answer 1

Start by assigning a variable and express everything in terms of that variable. Based on the first sentence, Susan is X years and Deb is X+5 years. Based on the second sentence, in Susan in two years, X+2, will be half the age of Deb, which would be (X+5+2)/2. Set equal to each other and solve X+2=(X+7)/2. You should get X=3. Susan is 3 now, Deb is 8. In two years, Susan will be 5, and Deb will be 10, so Susan will be half Deb’s age. Checks out!