Mrs. Lata was 3 times as old as her son 8 years ago. Their total age is 64 years now. How old (in years) is Mrs. Lata now?

Suppose present age of Mrs. Lata = P years Present age of son = Q years ∴ Their total age = 64 years P + Q = 64 ....... (i) According to question, 8 years ago , present age of Mrs. Lata - 8 years = 3 × ( present age of her son - 8 years ) ⇒ P – 8 = 3 (Q – 8) ⇒ P – 8 = 3Q – 24 ⇒ P – 3Q = – 16 ......(ii) From equations (i) and (ii), we get 4Q = 80 ⇒ Q = 20 Putting the value of Q in eq.(i) ∴ Age of Mrs. Lata = 64 – 20 = 44 years