Answer :
To find the present ages of Ed and John, we set up a system of equations where Ed is 8 years older than John and was 3 times John's age five years ago. Solving the equations, we find that John is 9 years old and Ed is 17 years old.
Let's denote John's current age as J and Ed's current age as E. According to the problem, Ed is 8 years older than John, so we can express this as E = J + 8. Five years ago, Ed was 3 times as old as John, which can be written as E - 5 = 3 * (J - 5).
Now we can set up our equations:
- E = J + 8
- E - 5 = 3 * (J - 5)
We can substitute the first equation into the second to find the value of J:
- (J + 8) - 5 = 3 * (J - 5)
- J + 3 = 3J - 15
- 3 + 15 = 3J - J
- 18 = 2J
- J = 9
Now that we know John's age is 9, we can find Ed's age by adding 8:
E = J + 8
E = 9 + 8
E = 17
Therefore, John is currently 9 years old, and Ed is currently 17 years old.
