Determine the ages of Mary, George, Alice, Claire and Stephen if:
- Mary and George total 33 years between them.
- Alice and Claire total 95 years between them.
- Stephen and Mary total 72 years between them.
- Mary and Claire total 87 years between them.
- Stephen and George total 73 years between them.
5 simultaneous equations.
Equation 1 + Equation 3 - Equation 5
gives
Mary + Mary = 32
So Mary = 16
Substituting into Equation 1,3, and 4
gives
George = 17
Stephen = 56
Claire = 71
Substituting Claire into Equation 2 gives
Alice = 24
Final answer = {16, 17, 24, 71, 56}
It is just barely possible that Claire and Stephen are the parents of the other three.
Lineage algebra (spoiler)
