Question

The product of 2 consecutive positive odd integers is 483. Write the equation that would be used to find x, the smaller integer.

Answer 1

Answer: 21

Explanation:

Let the consecutive odd numbers be represented by x and x+2. Therefore,

x × (x+2) = 483

x² + 2x = 483

x² + 2x - 483 = 0

x² + 23x - 21x - 483 = 0

x(x + 23) - 21(x + 23) = 0

(x - 21) = 0

x = 0 + 21

x = 21

The smaller integer is 21

The larger integer is 21 + 2 = 23.