I’ve been having some minor technical issues with the blog. I think it has something to do with the code I wrote to make vocabulary words turn red when the page loads interacting badly with the code for DISQUS, which is the commenting system. But since I’m not a computer programmer, I have no idea how to fix it. All of which is to say: I’m sorry that this weekend challenge includes an additional element of frustration in that you may have to reload the page a few times if the comment system doesn’t properly load the first time. I’d be happy to pay a programmer to fix it if any of you want to pay me to pay the programmer. 🙂

First correct comment wins access to the coveted PWN the SAT Math Guide. Make sure your friends are sitting down when you tell them you won. We don’t want anyone to fall and sustain head trauma.

Seven years ago, Thom was half as old as Phil and three times as old as Melanie. If Thom is 19 years old now, how many years will it be until Melanie is half as old as Phil?

I’ll post the solution Monday. Have a great weekend, y’all.

Nice work Cindy and Stephanie. Solution below.

Start in the present day. Thom is 19. Which means 7 years ago, he was 12. At that time, he was half as old as Phil, so Phil was 24. Thom was 3 times as old as Melanie, so she was 4.

In the present day, Phil must be 24 + 7 = 31 years old, and Melanie is 4 + 7 = 11. You could solve algebraically:

${22+2x}= {31+x}$
$x=9$

Or you could just count: