Exam path · Problems on Ages
Problems on ages give a relationship between two people's ages now, or after some years, and ask for one age. Let the younger age be x, write the other age in terms of x from the relationship given, then use the second condition — a sum, a ratio, or a future ratio — to solve for x directly. One variable is always enough; naming both ages separately only adds equations to cancel.
Problems on ages appear in almost every bank and SSC paper, usually as a single question that looks algebraic but resolves in two lines once it is set up correctly. The setter's whole strategy is the future-ratio version — ages after k years — because it tempts a second unknown where one already does the job.
Try it against the clock. Ages runs at 40s easy, 50s medium and 65s hard. The clock is stamped and judged on our server, so the limit you see is the deadline that is actually enforced — and it starts when you tap Start, not while the question is loading.
Everything else in the question is then written in terms of that single x, which is what keeps the algebra to one line.
If Anil is 8 years older than Bhavna, and Bhavna is x, then Anil is x + 8. No second variable is needed.
A sum of ages, a present ratio, or a ratio after k years each turn into one equation in x. Solve it, then read off whichever age the question actually asked for.
If the father is n times the son now, and m times the son after k years, both ages move forward by exactly k — that constraint alone pins down the son's present age.
| What the paper asks | The move |
|---|---|
| One person is older by a fixed number, sum given | Let the younger be x, the older is x + the difference, then solve the sum |
| Present ages in a ratio, future ratio given | Let the ages be kx and jx, add k years to both, solve the new ratio |
| Father is n times the son now, m times after k years | Let the son be x; nx + k = m(x + k); solve for x |
Generated by the same engine that mints the ComputePrep daily. Each answer is computed from the numbers printed in the question, and the walkthrough below each one is the engine's own working — not a solution written afterwards. Reload this page's live drill and you get different numbers.
The present ages of Deepak and Latha are in the ratio 11:6.
After 6 years the ratio will be 14:9.
What is Deepak's present age?
The present ages of Ravi and Sunita are in the ratio 5:3.
After 4 years the ratio will be 17:11.
What is Ravi's present age?
The present ages of Imran and Shalini are in the ratio 14:9.
After 4 years the ratio will be 16:11.
What is Imran's present age?
The wrong options are not random numbers. Each one is the result of a specific careless error for this topic, so picking one tells you which habit is costing you marks.
If Bhavna's age comes out as x and the question asks for Anil, the answer is x + the difference, not x itself. The near-miss option is always Bhavna's age sitting on the board, waiting for exactly this slip.
After k years, both people are k years older — not just the one the ratio is stated about. Forgetting to add k to both sides of a ratio produces an equation that cannot be solved correctly.
A present ratio of 5:3 means the first person's age is the larger number, not automatically the older person by name. Match the ratio's order to the names as the question states them, not by assumption.
The specific wrong numbers this topic produces, and what each one tells you about the step you took. If you have just got a question wrong and want to know which habit did it, start here.
14 is Bhavna's age, not Anil's. Let Bhavna = x, Anil = x + 8: x + (x+8) = 36 → x = 14, so Anil = 14 + 8 = 22. The question asked for Anil — check which name the answer belongs to before you pick.
Let the present ages be 5x and 3x. After 6 years: (5x+6):(3x+6) = 7:5, which solves to x = 3, so the older age is 5×3 = 15, not 25. Skipping the +6 on one side of the ratio is what produces 25.
36 is the father's present age, not the son's. Let the son = x, father = 3x: 3x+12 = 2(x+12) → x = 12. The question asked for the son's age, and the father's age is the number sitting on the board as the near miss.
Let the smaller or younger age be a single variable x, write every other age in terms of it from the first condition, then use the second condition — a sum, a ratio, or a future ratio — to solve for x. One variable, one equation, every time.
Between 40 and 65 seconds. This drill enforces exactly that: 40 seconds on easy, 50 on medium and 65 on hard, timed on the server rather than in your browser.
No — the same single-variable method, with one extra step: both ages move forward by the same number of years, so that constraint becomes the second equation.
Directly. A present-ratio-to-future-ratio question is a ratio and proportion question where the total is unknown and the constraint is the number of years added to both sides.
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