Harvey plans to use 5 ft of shelving for four shelves whose lengths are to be a series of consecutive even numbers. How many inches long should each shelf be?

Answer 1

"5 feet of shelving" is 60 inches of shelving. [ 5*12=60 ]

Let the length of the shortest shelf be x.

"four consecutive even numbers" are: x, x+2, x+4, x+6

their sum is 60

x + (x+2) + (x+4) + (x+6) = 60

4x + 12 = 60

4x = 48

x = 12

The shelves should be of lengths: 12", 14", 16", 18"

Check:

Does 12 + 14 + 16 + 18 = 60 ?

60 = 60 ?yes

Answer 2

n+(n+2)+(n+4)+(n+6)=60

4n+12=60

4n=48

n=12 in

n+2=14 in

n+4=16 in

n+6=18 in

Answer 3

12, 14, 16, 18