One year ago, a man was 8 times as old as his son. Now his age is equal to the square of his son’s age. Find their present ages.

6 views

1 Answers

Let the present age of the son be x years.

∴ Present age of man = x2 years

One year ago,

Son's age = (x − 1) years

Man's age = (x2 − 1) years

It is given that one year ago; a man was 8 times as old as his son.

∴ (x2 − 1) = 8(x − 1)

x2 − 8x − 1 + 8 = 0

x2 − 8x + 7 = 0

(x − 7) (x − 1) = 0

x = 7, 1

If x = 1, then x2 = 1, which is not possible as father's age cannot be equal to son's age.

Present age of son = x years = 7 years

Present age of man = x2 years = 49 years.

6 views