A Problem of Age
Recently I was at the 2015 New Year Party in my society. There was a beautiful young woman who looked intelligent. One of the guest suddenly popped up the Question, "How old are you"? For a moment she looked embarrassed but then with a charming smile she answered, "My age three years hence multiplied by 3 and from that subtracted three times my age three years ago will give you my exact age".
The man who asked her age just walked away puzzled. Then she leaned over and whispered to me, "If he can calculate this one, he deserves to know my age".
How old was she?
The answer is 18.
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1 solution
Let her present age be = x
Her age 3 years ago = x-3
Her age 3 years later = x+3
Three times her age 3 years later minus 3 times her age 3 years before = Her age
3(x+3) - 3(x-3) = x
3x + 9 - 3x + 9 = x
* 9 + 9 = x *
x = 18