Question

Three consecutive even numbers have a sum of 66.

What is the least number?

Answer 1

If the three numbers were all equal, each one would be 1/3 of 66 .
That's 22, so the numbers would be 22, 22, and 22 .

If you simply take 2 away from the first number and add it to
the last one, then their sum doesn't change, but now you have
20, 22, and 24 .

Answer 2

Let the least number = n

Since they are consecutive even numbers, they must be two numbers apart each; (n+2) and (n+4) are the second and third consecutive numbers, respectively.

Now we must add them together, and set the equation equal to 66.
n + (n+2) + (n+4) = 66

Simplify this to be: 3n + 6 = 66
66-6 = 3n
60 = 3n
n = 20

This means that the least number is 20, the second number is 22, and the third number is 24.