1. **State the problem:** Ely's mother is currently 35 years old. Three years ago, she was 4 times as old as Ely was at that time. We need to find Ely's current age. 2. **Define variables:** Let $E$ be Ely's current age. 3. **Express ages three years ago:** - Ely's mother's age three years ago: $35 - 3 = 32$ - Ely's age three years ago: $E - 3$ 4. **Set up the equation based on the problem statement:** $$32 = 4 \times (E - 3)$$ 5. **Solve the equation:** $$32 = 4E - 12$$ 6. **Add 12 to both sides:** $$32 + 12 = 4E$$ $$44 = 4E$$ 7. **Divide both sides by 4:** $$\frac{\cancel{44}}{\cancel{4}} = \frac{4E}{4}$$ $$11 = E$$ 8. **Conclusion:** Ely is currently 11 years old.