Puzzle #3
Mr. Smith said to his son, “I was one-third of your present age when you were born.” If the present age of Mr. Smith is 48 years, find the present age of the son.
Click to See Solution:
Answer: 36 years.
Explanation:
Let the present age of the son be S
According to Mr. Smith, he was one-third of the son’s current age when the son was born. This means that Mr. Smith’s age at that time was S/3
Since the son was born S years ago, we can determine Mr. Smith’s age at that time. Given that Mr. Smith is currently 48 years old, his age when the son was born was: 48-S
Now, we can set up the equation based on the information provided:
48-S = S/3 (i.e when the son was born)
Now let’s solve the equation:
48-S = S/3
48= S+S/3
48 =4S/3
S =144/3
S= 36
Thus, the present age of the son is 36 years.