The sum of three consecutive integers is less than 178. what is the maximum value for the first integer?

Answer 1

If you call the first integer 'x', then the next two integers are 'x+1' and 'x+2'. The sum of these 3 integers is (x) + (x + 1) + (x + 2). Combine like terms to get 3x + 3. You now know that 3x + 3 < 178. Subtract 3 from both sides to get 3x < 175. Divide both sides by 3 to get x < 58 1/3. Because only integers are acceptable, the answer is the largest integer that's less than 58 1/3, which is 58.