(It's an old soviet math problem, no tricks or anything here)
Jimmy is 21 years younger than his mother.
Six years from now, Jimmy's mother will be five times as old as Jimmy.
Where is Jimmy's father?
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You should word it as "five times as old" to remove ambiguity. – Acccumulation Nov 02 '18 at 19:42
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@ Thomas Blue This question was asked as " Where is Jenifer's Husband" on this site a few years ago. So it is a duplicate. Please check – DrD Nov 04 '18 at 16:27
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@ DEEM That is true. In russian it was called "Where is the father" so my searches for duplicate proved worthless – Thomas Blue Nov 05 '18 at 11:19
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No issue. Happens all the time. Funny puzzle though – DrD Nov 05 '18 at 12:47
2 Answers
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Well, first I have to solve the math problem, I guess.
Let $x$ equal Jimmy's age.
This means $x+21$ is the mother's starting age. In 6 years, Jimmy will be $x+6$ and his mother will be $x+27$.
So, $(x+6)*5 = x+27$
$5x+30 = x+27$
$5x + 3 = x$
$4x = -3$
$x = -3/4$
Yeah, I see where this is going. Jimmy is exactly -9 months old, which means his father is right where his mother is, most likely.
Excited Raichu
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Easy math:
Let $x$ represent Jimmy's age.
Let $y$ represent Jimmy's mother's age.
We can convert this into two equations:
$x+21=y$
$5*(x+6) = y+6$
Substituting the first equation into the second equation via isolated y:
$5x+30=x+21+6$
Subtract x and 30 from both sides of the equation:
$4x = -3$
Jimmy is -3/4 years old. This is the length of a pregnancy (9 months).
Jimmy's father is currently sleeping with his mother as he is being conceived.
