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Three years back, a father was 24 years older than his son. At present the father is 5 times as old as the son. How old will the son be three years from now?
  • a)
    12 years
  • b)
    6 years
  • c)
    3 years
  • d)
    9 years
  • e)
    27 years
Correct answer is option 'D'. Can you explain this answer?
Verified Answer
Three years back, a father was 24 years older than his son. At present...
Let the age of the son 3 years back be 'x' years.
Information 1: Three years back, a father was 24 years older than his son. 
Therefore, the age of the father 3 years back was (x + 24).
If the age of the son 3 years back was 'x' years, the present age of the son is x + 3.
Present age of father = x + 24 + 3
Information 2: The father is at present 5 times as old as the son.
i.e., (x + 24 + 3) = 5(x + 3)
Or x + 27 = 5x + 15
Or 4x = 12 or x = 3.
Step 2 of solving this GMAT Algebra Word Problem: From unknown to the answer
x was the age of the son 3 years back.
Therefore, the son was 3 years old 3 years back.
The question is "How old will the son be three years from now?"
If the son was 3 years old, 3 years back, the son is 6 years old now.
Hence, he will be 9 years old three years from now.
Choice D is the correct answer.
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Most Upvoted Answer
Three years back, a father was 24 years older than his son. At present...
Problem: Three years back, a father was 24 years older than his son. At present the father is 5 times as old as the son. How old will the son be three years from now?

Solution:

Let the present age of the son be x.

According to the problem, the father's present age is 5x.

Three years back, the son's age was x - 3, and the father's age was 5x - 3.

At that time, the father was 24 years older than his son, so we can write:

5x - 3 = 24 + (x - 3)

Solving for x, we get:

4x = 24 + 3 + 24

4x = 51

x = 12.75

Since the son's age must be a whole number, we can round x up to 13.

Therefore, the son's present age is 13, and the father's present age is 5 x 13 = 65.

Three years from now, the son will be 13 + 3 = 16 years old.

Answer: Option D (9 years) is incorrect, and the correct answer is option D (16 years).
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Three years back, a father was 24 years older than his son. At present the father is 5 times as old as the son. How old will the son be three years from now?a)12 yearsb)6 yearsc)3 yearsd)9 yearse)27 yearsCorrect answer is option 'D'. Can you explain this answer? for GMAT 2025 is part of GMAT preparation. The Question and answers have been prepared according to the GMAT exam syllabus. Information about Three years back, a father was 24 years older than his son. At present the father is 5 times as old as the son. How old will the son be three years from now?a)12 yearsb)6 yearsc)3 yearsd)9 yearse)27 yearsCorrect answer is option 'D'. Can you explain this answer? covers all topics & solutions for GMAT 2025 Exam. Find important definitions, questions, meanings, examples, exercises and tests below for Three years back, a father was 24 years older than his son. At present the father is 5 times as old as the son. How old will the son be three years from now?a)12 yearsb)6 yearsc)3 yearsd)9 yearse)27 yearsCorrect answer is option 'D'. Can you explain this answer?.
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