Bunuel
Four years ago, the average age of a family of 9 members was 31 years. Two years later a man died at an age of 41 years, what is the present average age of the family?
(A) 32
(B) 33
(C) 34
(D) 35
(E) 36
If the man had still been alive two years later, the sum of their ages would have been 9 x 33 = 297. However, since the man is dead, the sum of the remaining 8 people’s ages two years ago was 297 - 41 = 256, and therefore, their average age two years ago was 256/8 = 32. Since the age of every surviving member will increase by 2, the average age will increase by 2 as well, and thus, their present average age is 34.
Alternate Solution:
The sum of the ages of the 9 members is 31 x 9 = 279. The man who died two years ago was 39 years old four years ago. Thus, without the man, the sum of the ages of the remaining 8 members four years ago was 279 - 39 = 240. In four years, the age of every member will increase by 4; therefore the total age will increase by 8 x 4 = 32. Thus, in the present time, the sum of the ages of the surviving members is 240 + 32 = 272 and the average age is 272/8 = 34.
Answer: C