Assume that the son's age two years ago was x and that the father's age two years ago was y
We are given that:
1- two years ago, the father's age was 4 times that of his son.
This means that: y = 4x .........> I
2- At present:
son's age = x + 2 and father's age is y + 2
3- three years from now:
son's age would be x+2+3 = x+5 and father's age would be y+2+3 = y+5
4- three years from now, the father's age would be three times as that of his son's.
This means that:
y + 5 = 3(x+5) ..........> II
Substitute with equation I in II and solve for x as follows:
y+5 = 3x + 15
4x + 5 = 3x + 15
x = 10
x = 10 (age of son two years ago)
Now, substitute with x in equation I to get y as follows:
y = 4x = 4(10) = 40 (age of father two years ago)
This means that:
son's age now = 10 + 2 = 12 years old
father's age now = 40 + 2 = 42 years old
Hope this helps :)
