Ramesh's age after 16 years will be 5 times his age 4 years back. What is the…

Age word problems that relate a person's age now, after some years, and some years ago are solved by taking the present age as an unknown x, translating each time phrase into x plus or minus that many years, and writing the stated ratio between two of these expressions as one linear equation in x.

Applying this to Ramesh's age:

1. Let Ramesh's present age be x years.

2. His age after 16 years = x + 16.

3. His age 4 years back = x − 4.

4. The statement "age after 16 years is 5 times age 4 years back" gives the equation x + 16 = 5(x − 4).

5. Expand the right-hand side: x + 16 = 5x − 20.

6. Bring the x terms and constants together: 16 + 20 = 5x − x, i.e. 36 = 4x.

7. Solve for x: x = 9.

Check: age after 16 years = 9 + 16 = 25, and 5 times the age 4 years back = 5 × (9 − 4) = 5 × 5 = 25 — both sides match, confirming Ramesh's present age is 9 years.