Question

The sum of three consecutive even integers is -78, what are the integers ?

how would I describe the use of strategy of writing an equation to solve the given problem ?

Answer 1

First, you need to analize and understand the problem, then you must choose and strategy. There is a wide variety of strategies to solve a mathematical problem, in this case, you can use the following, which is based on the information given above:
1. You have that the sum of three consecutive even integers is
`-78`, therefore, you can given the variable
`x` to the first integer, the second even integer is
`x+2` and the third one is
`x+4`.
2. Calculate x:

`x+(x+2)+(x+4)=-78`

`3x+6=-78`

`x=-28`

`x+2=-28+2=-26`

`x+4=-28+4=-24`
Therefore, the answer is:
`-28,-26,-24`