If the difference between the ages of a mother and her daughter is 24 years, and the sum of their ages is 52 years, how old (in years) is the mother?
38
Let the mother's age be M and the daughter's age be D, with \(M-D=24\) and \(M+D=52\).
Adding the two equations: \(2M=76 \Rightarrow M=38\).
Hence, the mother's age is 38 years.