Analyzing One-Variable Relationships in Context

Wayne's the youngest brother — let's call his age $n.$ Thus, the age of the other two brothers can be expressed as $(n+1)$ and $(n+2).$ Using this and the fact that the sum of their ages is $96$ we get an equation. $$\begin{array}{c}n+(n+1)+(n+2)=96\end{array}$$ Let's solve for $n.$ Therefore, Wayne is $31$ years old, Gordie is $32,$ and Mario is $33.$