Let their present age be measured in terms of x. The ratio of the present ages of Leela and her mother is 3 : 8 So, present age of Leela is 3x and that of her mother is 8x. The mother was 25 years old when Leela was born. According to problem: 8x–3x=25 ⇒ 5x=25 ⇒ x=5 So, the mother’s present age (in years) = 8x = (8 × 5) = 40 years. Hence, ‘40’ is the correct answer.