Understanding Number Expressions for Age Problem

Question

Learning Corner · Accepted Answer

To find Rachel's age in relation to Reiki's age, we first need to establish Reiki's age. We know that Reiki is 6 years old.

Now, the problem states that Rachel is 3 years more than twice Reiki's age. Let's break this down step by step:

1. **Identify Reiki's Age**:  
   Reiki's age = 6 years

2. **Find Twice Reiki's Age**:  
   Twice Reiki's age = 2 * 6 = 12 years

3. **Add 3 Years to Twice Reiki's Age**:  
   Rachel's age = Twice Reiki's age + 3 = 12 + 3 = 15 years

However, to write a number expression for Rachel's age without plugging in the numbers, we can express it as:

**Rachel's age** = 2 * (Reiki's age) + 3  
So, substituting Reiki's age:

**Rachel's age = 2 * (6) + 3**

In a more general form:  
If we let R represent Reiki’s age, then Rachel’s age can be expressed as:

**Rachel's age = 2R + 3**  
(where R = 6 for our case)

This expression tells us how to calculate Rachel’s age based on Reiki’s age in any situation!