Question

Is the following situation possible? If so, determine their present ages. The sum of the ages of a mother and her daughter is 20 years. Four years ago, the product of their ages in years was 48.

Answer 1

Let the mother age be ‘X’ years, then her daughter’s age will be ‘(20–X)’ years.

As per the question,

(X – 4)(20 – X – 4) = 48

(X – 4)(16 – X) = 48

16X – 64 – X² + 4X = 48

–X² + 20X – 112 = 0

X² – 20X + 112 = 0

On applying Sreedhracharya formula

It does not have real values, then it is not possible for the above situation to happen.