Spencer is 32 years younger than Jennifer. 3 years ago, Jennifer’s age was 3 times Spencer’s age. How old is Spencer now?

17

Step-by-step explanation:

The sentences 'Spencer is 32 years younger than Jennifer' can be modeled by x = y-32 (x representing spencer's age and y representing Jennifer's). The sentence '3 years ago, Jennifer's age was 3 times Spencer's age' can be modeled by the equation x-3 = 1/3(y-3). Solving the second equation for y gives you y = 3x-6. Substitute into the first equation to get x = (3x - 6) - 32. Solve for x, which represents Spencer's age, to get x = 17

we have three similar triangles, because each has a right angle and shares an angle.   let's write the angles in order: opposite to short leg, long leg, hypotenuse.

cab similar to bad similar to cbd

or as ratios,

ca: ab: cb = ba: ad: bd = cb: bd: cd

we also know

ac = ad + cd

(ad+cd): ab: cb = ba: ad: bd = cb: bd: cd

(ad+cd)/cb=cb/cd

we have cb=6, ad=5 and seek x=cd.

we reject the negative root and conclude x=4

answer: 4