'4 times as old as' VS '4 times older than'

[imwugaojun]

While doing the mock test, I encountered a word question stated as following:

' Joe is twice as old as Ann. Eight years ago, Joe was four times older than Ann. '

My question is regarding the interpretation of :

- X is twice as old as Y

- X is four times older than Y


To my understanding, the first would translate to X=2 * Y
While the second statement would mean X = 5 * Y because it is saying that X is four times 'more' than Y, isn't it?

However, the answer to this question treat the second statement as equivalent to X=4 * Y, which to me seems rather strange and mathematically incorrect.

Can anyone provide a clarification on how I should interpret this on the real exam?

[tommywallach]

Hey Im,

- X is twice as old as Y

- X is four times older than Y

These have the same meaning (Aside from the change in the number itself). The difference you're thinking of is when PERCENTS are used.

X is 150% of Y

is different from

X is 150% more than Y

But in the wording you gave, they have the same meaning (the "older" doesn't mean you're adding four times the original to the original).

-t

[imwugaojun]

Got it. Thank you.

[tommywallach]

No problem!