find the intergers

Question

The sum of three consecutive odd integers is thirty-three. Find the integers. (Enter your answers as a comma-separated list.)

Answer 1

Here's what we know:

a + b + c = 33 (the three numbers add up to 33)

a = b - 2

c = b + 2 (they're two numbers apart. the reason to go with b is so that the 2s cancel out, as you'll soon see)

 

So plug in the variables:

b - 2 + b + b + 2 = 33

Simplify:

3b = 33

Divide both sides by 3:

b = 11

You can find a and c from here.