Patty at year x will be 3 times the age of his brother
In 10 years (year z) the sum of their age will be 36
36-20=16 (Twenty being ten years gained for each of them)
16 is now the sum of their age in year x
The following are options for the ages they could possibly be 1-15 (1*3 does not equal 15) 2-14(2*3 does not equal 14) 3-13(3*3 does not equal 13) 4-12(4*3 equals 12)!!!! 5-11(5*3 does not equal 11) 6-10(6*3 does not equal 10) 7-9 (7*3 does not equal 9) 8-8(8*3 does not equal 8)
Therefore the answer would be: Patty is 22 and his brother is 14