[ Word problems ]

When the father was 27 years old, the son was only three years old, and now the son is three times younger than the father. How old are they now?

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Think about how much older the father is than the son

## Solution

From the condition, it follows that the father is 24 years older than the son. If the son is currently $x$ years old, then the father is $-24+x$. We can form the equation $3 x=24+x$. Solving it, we get $x=12$. So, the son is currently 12 years old, and the father is 36. Alternatively: the father is 24 years older than the son, and this difference will always remain. However, if the son is three times younger than the father, then 24 (the father's age) should be twice the son's age, i.e., the son is 12 years old (and the father, accordingly, is 36). This will happen in 9 years (the son is currently 3 years old).