The present ages of two persons, X and Y, are in the ratio 4 : 5. Five years from now, the difference between X's age and Y's age will be 3 years. Find the sum of their present ages (in years).
27
Let the present ages be 4k and 5k. Five years later, the ages are (4k+5) and (5k+5), and their difference stays the same as now.
\(5k-4k=k\), and this difference is given as 3, so \(k=3\).
Sum of present ages: \(4k+5k=9k=9\times3=27\).
Hence, the sum of their present ages is 27 years.