Let Brandon's age be = b years
Let Michael's age be = m years
As Michael is 12 years older than Brandon, Michael's age, so
[tex]m=b+12[/tex]
Seventeen years ago, Michael was 4 times as old as Brandon, so
[tex]m-17=4(b-17)[/tex]
[tex]m-17=4b-68[/tex]
[tex]m=4b-51[/tex]
[tex]m-4b=-51[/tex]
Substitute m=b+12
[tex]b+12-4b=-51[/tex]
[tex]-3b=-63[/tex]
[tex]b=21[/tex]
Hence, Brandon's age is 21 years
As m=b+12
[tex]m=21+12[/tex]
[tex]m=33[/tex]
Hence, Michael's age is 33 years.
