13. The total of three Friends' ages is 48 . Abel is half as old as Bert and four years older than Carl. How old is each friend? introduce your varioble, create on equation, then solve.

Let's introduce our variables: let Carl's age be \( C \), Bert's age be \( B \), and Abel's age be \( A \). According to the problem, we can set up the following equations: 1. \( A + B + C = 48 \) (the total age of the three friends) 2. \( A = \frac{1}{2}B \) (Abel is half as old as Bert) 3. \( A = C + 4 \) (Abel is four years older than Carl) Now, we can substitute equation 2 into equation 1: \(\frac{1}{2}B + B + (B/2 - 4) = 48\) To simplify: \( \frac{2B}{2} + \frac{B}{2} + C = 48 \) Combine like terms: \( B + C = 48 - A \) Now substitute \( C \) from equation 3 into \( B \) and solve. Once you work it out, you’ll find that Bert is 32 years old, Abel is 16, and Carl is 12 years old! So there you have it, the ages of the three friends are Abel: 16, Bert: 32, and Carl: 12.