In three years, Uncle Joe will be six times as old as Miguel was last year. How old is each one currently?

Let's use algebra to solve this problem:

Step 1: Define variables for the current ages. Let's use "J" to represent Uncle Joe's current age and "M" to represent Miguel's current age.

Step 2: Set up an equation based on the given information. We know that in three years, Uncle Joe's age will be "J + 3". We also know that last year, Miguel's age was "M - 1".

According to the information given, in three years Uncle Joe's age will be six times what Miguel's age was last year: J + 3 = 6 * (M - 1)

Step 3: Expand the equation. J + 3 = 6M - 6

Step 4: Rearrange the equation to isolate J on one side. J = 6M - 6 - 3 J = 6M - 9

Step 5: Since we have only one equation and two unknowns, we cannot determine the exact ages without additional information. If we had a second piece of information, such as the difference in their current ages, we would be able to solve for both J and M.

Without that second piece of information, the best we can do is express Joe's current age in terms of Miguel's current age. Hence, we need more information to determine their exact ages.