Answer: 24
Step-by-step explanation: This problem states that the sum of 3 consecutive numbers is 84 and it asks us to find the smallest number.
3 consecutive numbers can be represented as follows.
X ⇒ first number
X + 1 ⇒ second number
X + 2 ⇒ third number
Since the sum of our 3 consecutive numbers is 84, our equation will read X + X + 1 + X + 2 = 84.
Simplifying on the left we get 3x + 3 = 84.
Subtracting 3 from both sides, we have 3x = 81.
Now we can divide both sides by 3 to get x = 27.
This means that 27 will be the smallest number.