To solve the problem of determining the age of the oldest friend, let's first understand the given data and perform step-by-step calculations.
The average age of three friends is given as 20 years. This means the total age of the three friends combined is:
\(3 \times 20 = 60\) years
The ages are in the proportion 2:3:5, which means if the ages are \(2x\), \(3x\), and \(5x\), respectively.
To find the value of \(x\), we use the equation:
\(2x + 3x + 5x = 60\)
Simplifying this gives:
\(10x = 60\)
Solving for \(x\) gives:
\(x = \frac{60}{10} = 6\)
Now, we can calculate the age of the oldest friend, which is \(5x\):
\(5 \times 6 = 30\) years
Thus, the age of the oldest friend is 30 years.
Therefore, the correct option is: