He checked twice. No mistake. He checked the answer key at the back—it only said “Impossible. Explain why.”
He wrote the equations: let son = s , father = f . (f = 4s) (f + 18 = 2(s + 18) \Rightarrow 4s + 18 = 2s + 36 \Rightarrow 2s = 18 \Rightarrow s = 9, f = 36.) Sum = (9 + 36 = 45), which is not prime. A contradiction. culegere matematica clasa a 9 a
But the next problem stopped him cold. Problem 790: A different father is four times as old as his son. In 18 years, he will be only twice as old. But the sum of their current ages is a prime number. Find their ages. He checked twice
He checked twice. No mistake. He checked the answer key at the back—it only said “Impossible. Explain why.”
He wrote the equations: let son = s , father = f . (f = 4s) (f + 18 = 2(s + 18) \Rightarrow 4s + 18 = 2s + 36 \Rightarrow 2s = 18 \Rightarrow s = 9, f = 36.) Sum = (9 + 36 = 45), which is not prime. A contradiction.
But the next problem stopped him cold. Problem 790: A different father is four times as old as his son. In 18 years, he will be only twice as old. But the sum of their current ages is a prime number. Find their ages.