Write and solve an equation to solve the problem. lisa is 4 centimeters taller than her friend ian. ian is 8 centimeters taller than jim. every month, their heights increase by 2 centimeters. in 4 months, the sum of ian's and jim's heights will be 140 centimeters more than lisa's height. how tall is ian now? let h be ian's height today in centimeters.
(h + 8) + + 8 = ( + 8 + 140

ian is __ centimeters tall now.

Let the actual heights of Lisa, Ian and Jim be L, I and J.

i) "Lisa is 4 centimeters taller than her friend Ian." means: L=4+I

ii) "Ian is 8 centimeters taller than Jim." means: I=8+J, thus J=I-8

so the heights of Lisa, Ian and Jim are  4+I, I and I-8, respectively.

Since their heights increase by 2 cm, in 4 months, their heights increase      2 cm*4 = 8 cm.

Thus, after 4 months the heights of Lisa, Ian and Jim become:

4+I +8, I+8 and I-8+8 that is  I + 12, I+8, I.

In 4 months, "the sum of Ian's and Jim's heights will be 140 centimeters more than Lisa's height. " mean:

(I+8)+I=140+(I+12)

2I+8=152+I

I=152-8=144

This solution made use of writing all the ages in terms of Ians current age.

The question is kind of confusing. if it's asking how many variations of answers can you give. then do 4^5 for your answer.this would be something like the first question could be a and the 2nd c or first b next c etc. if you can, ask the teacher for a better confirmation of what it's asking. if i'm assuming correctly what it's asking, it's 625 different variations.