Problems On Age

Problems on age are a common type of aptitude question asked in many competitive exams like GMAT, SAT, GRE, CAT, and more. So, a person who will give such a competitive exam that involves aptitude questions should know how to solve problems related to age. The questions related to such topics can sometimes be confusing, but if you know the basic concept of solving such questions, you can easily score marks. Problems based on age can be of different types and concepts. Well, we will discuss all the significant things related to age problems here. 

Problems on ages formulas

There are some important problems on age formulas that will clear out the concept for problems on age:

• If you have assumed that your present age is X, then your age after N number of years will be X+N years.
• If you have assumed that your present age is X, then your age before N number of years will be X-N years.
• If the age given in the problem is in ratio, say P:Q, then you can consider the age to be PX and QX. 
• If you have assumed that your present age is X, then the age N times the present one will be X x N years.
• If you have assumed that your present age is X, then 1/N of the current age will be X/N years. 

Tricks and tips for solving age problem questions

Below are some tips and tricks that can help you solve problems related to ages.

• For solving the question, you can do basic mathematics like subtraction, division, addition, and multiplication. To get answers to problems related to age does not require a lot of calculations, so you can simplify the equation and solve the calculations using basic mathematics.
• Before starting to solve the question, understanding and reading the question very carefully is important because if the question is read carefully, the equation can easily be formed to get the answer. 
• The values can be arranged by correctly placing them in the equation by assigning unknown values with a variable.
• Once you have formed the equation, it can be solved to get the answer.
• Re-checking the answer achieved is also essential to ensure that there has been no error made while calculating. 
• You can also assign variables and arrange the information accordingly. This will simplify the entire problem.
• One variable can be selected to solve the entire problem. 
• X can be assumed as the current age if the question includes different ages at different times.
• If the problem includes ages for various people, X can be assumed as the age of the person who is the youngest.

Points to avoid confusion and problems based on age

To avoid confusion related to age problem questions, below mentioned are some points that you can keep in mind to make your concept clear:

• Take X as the age, even if it is of future, past, or present. This rule will make the question a little bit simple for you.
• It is always better to take X as a present age in many cases and using this, the past and the future age can be calculated. For example, the past age can be X-5 in five years back and X+5 in 5 years in the future.
• In cases where X cannot be taken as the present age, then it can be taken as the age that is to be found in the question.
• You can also try to relate the question with yourself and put yourself in the question and try to calculate your or someone else’s age.
• You can even sometimes solve the question with the help of Bank calculations. This point you can only consider when you do not have much time left.

Example of problems on age

Q1. What is Nimita‘s present age, if her age after 20 years will be ten times more than her age ten years ago?

1. 13.3 Years
2. 6.2 Years 
3. 10 Years
4. 7.7 Years

Solution: The correct option is option A.

Assume that Nivetha‘s current age is X.

Her age 10 years ago= X-10

Her age after 20 years = X-20

It is given that her age in coming 20 years will be equal to 10 times her age 10 years ago, which means that

(X + 20) = (X – 10)10

 X + 20 = 10xX– 100

9X = 120

X = 13.3 Years

Conclusion

Problems on age are common types of Aptitude questions that are asked in competitive exams. So, to clear such exams, understanding the concepts and knowing the tricks to solve them is essential. Age-related problems seem to be confusing, but they are simple if they are understood well. There are basic formulas that are used to solve the problems.