[geoschmo]

Originally posted by Slick:
A ship is twice as old as its boiler was when the ship was as old as the boiler is. The sum of their ages is 49 years. How old is the ship and how old is the boiler?

I love word problems

age of ship now = x
age of boiler now = (49 - x)

The ship was as old as the boiler is (x - (49 - x)) years ago

At that time, the boiler was (49 - x) - (x - (49 - x)) years old

Therefore

x = 2((49 - x) - (x - (49 - x))

remove parentheses (watch your signs though) and combine terms

x = 2(49 - x - (x - 49 + x)
x = 2(49 - x - x + 49 - x)
x = 2(98 - 3x)
x = 196 - 6x
7x = 196
x = 28

Ship is 28 years old
Boiler is 21 years old

check
Boiler was 14 when the ship was 21 and 28 is 2 times 14.

[ July 31, 2003, 17:07: Message edited by: geoschmo ]