Algebra Puzzle – Challenge 42

Challenge:

Mr. Ronald is 53 years old. He has three children, John 14 years old, Nicole 9 years old, and Mark 4 years old. In how many years, the age of Mr. Ronald will become equal to the sum of his children’s age?

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Mr. Ronald is 53 years old and the sum of his children is:
14 + 9 + 4 = 27
The difference of Mr. Ronald’s age and his children is:
53 – 27 = 26
Every year, one year adds to Mr. Ronald’s age and three years adds to the sum of his children’s age. The difference of this is 2 years. So, each year 2 years is subtracted from the difference of Mr. Ronal’s age and his children.
Therefore, in 13 years the difference of Mr. Ronald’s age and his children becomes zero.

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