Sometimes
can someone help me figure this one out?
i need help setting this problem up.
thanks.
Carlos is ten years older than Jose. Five years ago Carlos was three times as old as Jose. How old is Jose now?
Sometimes, in order to "comprehend" what is being said, it helps to personalize the problem. Like:
I am Jose, my brother Carlos is ten years older than I am, (think about the meaning of that)
five years ago my brother was three times older then me. (think about the meaning of that)
How old am I now?
It can also help to slowly write the the problem out long hand while contemplating the meaning of what is being said and how to say the same thing with algebraic notation piece by piece. The ACTUAL, not just the mental, exercise is what focuses one's attention ... or so I have found.
Sometimes it helps to play with the problem by just picking an answer and working backwards, like ...
Suppose I am now 9, then my brother would be 9 + 10 = 19 now, 5 years ago I would have been 4, so my brother would have been 3(4) =12. Your brother could not have both 12, five years ago, and now, 10 years later, 19, so clearly you are not now 9, but ...
My point here is that even the big guns in the math world do not just write down solutions, they play with the problem, engage with the problem, work examples and through that process come up with ideas. It is only later that the solution seems obvious. Of course one might prefer to go out and play baseball but this is fun too ... one CAN be both a nerd and an athlete.
