Let present age of the son be x years
∴ Present age of the father = x2 years
one year ago,
Age of the son = (x – 1) years
and Age of the father = (x2 – 1) years
According to the given condition,
x2 – 1 = 8(x – 1)
⇒ x2 – 1 – 8x + 8 = 0
x2 – 8x + 7 = 0
⇒ (x – 1) (x– 7) = 0
⇒ x – 1 = 0, x – 7 = 0
i.e., x = 1, x = 7
When x = 1, age of son = age of father, which is impossible
∴ x = 1 is rejected.
∴ x = 7
Thus present age of son = 7 years
and present age of father = 49 years.