Let's break down the information provided in the problem:

• The sum of the ages of two boys is 20.
• 5 years ago, their ages added up to 20.
• We need to find their present ages.

Let the present ages of the two boys be $x$ and $y$.

Step 1: Set up the equation based on the information from 5 years ago.

• 5 years ago, their ages would have been $x - 5$ and $y - 5$.
• The sum of their ages 5 years ago is 20. Therefore, we can write:

$(x - 5) + (y - 5) = 20$

Simplifying this:

$x + y - 10 = 20$

$x + y = 30$

Step 2: Solve for their present ages.

The sum of their present ages is 30. Since we don't have any additional information about the relationship between $x$ and $y$, their ages could be any two numbers that add up to 30.

For example, possible pairs for their ages could be:

• $x = 15$ and $y = 15$ (if they are the same age),
• $x = 14$ and $y = 16$,
• $x = 18$ and $y = 12$, etc.

Would you like more details on how to explore specific cases, or do you have additional information that can help narrow down their exact ages?

Here are five related questions you might find interesting:

1. What would their ages have been 10 years ago?
2. If the sum of their ages were 40, how would their present ages change?
3. How would the problem change if the age difference between the two boys was specified?
4. How do we approach problems with multiple variables and conditions?
5. What happens to the sum of ages after another 5 years?

Tip: When solving for two variables with limited information, creating multiple possible scenarios helps explore all potential solutions.