Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: 68 years
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This is a simple age-difference problem. The key relationship is that at a certain point in the past, the mother was exactly twice as old as the child. We use this to fix the age difference, and then use the current age of the child to determine the present age of the mother.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
In problems like this, the age difference between parent and child remains constant over time. Once we know both ages at one point in time, we can compute their age difference. Then, as time passes, we simply add the same number of years to both while keeping the difference fixed. This allows us to calculate the mother present age easily.
Step-by-Step Solution:
At the time when the child was 24 years old, the mother age was twice 24, which is 2 * 24 = 48 years.So at that moment, the age difference between mother and child was 48 - 24 = 24 years.This age difference remains constant throughout their lives.Now the child is 44 years old.Therefore the present age of the mother is 44 + 24 = 68 years.
Verification / Alternative check:
When the child was 24, the mother was 48. There is a 24-year gap.Now 20 years have passed since the child went from 24 to 44.The mother age would also increase by 20 years, from 48 to 68.This confirms that the calculation is consistent with both the age difference and the passage of time.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
84 years: This would imply an age difference of 40 years instead of 24, which contradicts the original information.48 years: This is the mother age when the child was 24, not the present age.88 years: This would create a 44-year age difference, which is inconsistent with the original twice-as-old statement.
Common Pitfalls:
Some learners mistakenly double the current age of the child or use the wrong age for the twice relationship.Others forget that the age difference is fixed and instead try to set up unnecessary equations.Confusing the time gap between the two events can also cause arithmetic mistakes.
Final Answer:
The mother present age is 68 years.
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