Question

There are three consecutive integers. The sum of three times the smallest integer and two times the largest integer is 49. What is the smaller integer?

Answer 1

To find the smaller integer in a set of three consecutive integers, we can set up an equation based on given information and solve for the variable.

Step-by-step explanation:

To solve this problem, we can set up equations based on the given information. Let's assume that the three consecutive integers are x, x+1, and x+2.

The sum of three times the smallest integer and two times the largest integer is 49, so we can write the equation: 3x + 2(x+2) = 49.

Simplifying the equation, we have: 3x + 2x + 4 = 49. Combining like terms, we get: 5x + 4 = 49.

Now, we can solve for x by subtracting 4 from both sides of the equation and then dividing both sides by 5. This gives us x = 9. Therefore, the smaller integer is 9.