Patty is, right now, 3 times as her brother terry. in 10 years, the sum of their age will be 36. how old are they right now? show your work.

Patty at year x will be 3 times the age of his brother

In 10 years (year z) the sum of their age will be 36

36-20=16
(Twenty being ten years gained for each of them)

16 is now the sum of their age in year x

The following are options for the ages they could possibly be
1-15 (1*3 does not equal 15)
2-14(2*3 does not equal 14)
3-13(3*3 does not equal 13)
4-12(4*3 equals 12)
5-11(5*3 does not equal 11)
6-10(6*3 does not equal 10)
7-9 (7*3 does not equal 9)
8-8(8*3 does not equal 8)

Therefore the answer would be:
Patty is 22 and his brother is 14