Salina's age is one-quarter the age of her aunt. If [tex]\(a\)[/tex] represents her aunt's age, which expression represents Salina's age?

A. [tex]\(4a\)[/tex]
B. [tex]\(a - 4\)[/tex]
C. [tex]\(a + 4\)[/tex]
D. [tex]\(\frac{a}{4}\)[/tex]



Answer :

Let's solve the problem step-by-step:

1. Define the variables:
- Let [tex]\( a \)[/tex] represent the age of Salina's aunt.

2. Understanding the relationship:
- The problem states that Salina’s age is one-quarter the age of her aunt. This means that Salina’s age is a fraction of her aunt’s age.

3. Formulate the expression:
- If Salina’s age is one-quarter of her aunt’s age, then her age can be expressed as [tex]\(\frac{1}{4}\)[/tex] of [tex]\( a \)[/tex].

4. Write the expression:
- Therefore, Salina's age can be represented by [tex]\(\frac{a}{4}\)[/tex].

So, among the given options:
- [tex]\( 4a \)[/tex] multiplies her aunt’s age by 4, which does not correctly represent one-quarter.
- [tex]\( a - 4 \)[/tex] decreases her aunt’s age by 4 years, which does not reflect the correct relationship.
- [tex]\( a + 4 \)[/tex] increases her aunt’s age by 4 years, which also does not reflect the correct relationship.

The correct expression that represents Salina's age, given that her age is one-quarter of her aunt’s age, is [tex]\(\frac{a}{4}\)[/tex].