Ali is younger than Zia by 10 years. If 5 years back their ages were in the ratio 1:2, how old is Zia?

Ali is younger than Zia by 10 years. If 5 years back their ages were in the ratio 1:2, how old is Zia?

Explanation

Let's break this down step by step:

  1. Let Ali's current age be A and Zia's current age be Z.
  2. Since Ali is younger than Zia by 10 years, we can write an equation: A = Z - 10
  3. We know that 5 years back, their ages were in the ratio 1:2. So, we can set up another equation based on their ages 5 years back: (A-5)/(Z-5) = 1/2
  4. Cross-multiply and simplify the equation: 2A - 10 = Z - 5
  5. Substitute the expression for A from step 2 into the equation in step 4: 2(Z-10) - 10 = Z - 5
  6. Simplify and solve for Z: 2Z - 20 - 10 = Z - 5 --> Z = 25

So, Zia is currently 25 years old.