the sum of four consecutive integers is -18. what is the greatest of these integers

Answer 1

-18/4 = -4.5 which is in the middle of the 4 integers

the integers are -3,-4,-5 and -6, with -3 as the largest integer

or another approach

x+x+1+x+2+x+3 = -18

4x = -18-1-2-3 =-24

x =-24/4 = -6 = the smallest integer

x+1 = -5 = 2nd smallest integer

x+2 = -4 = 2nd largest integer

x+3 =-6+3 =-3 = the largest integer

-6 is smallest, -3 is largest (the opposite of dealing with positive integers)

Answer 2

Let x = first integer

x+1=second integer

x+2=third integer

x+3=fourth integer

The sum of the integers is -18

The equation would be:

x+x+1+x+2+x+3 = -18 Now solve

4x+6=-18 Subtract 6 from both sides

4x=-24

x=-6

x+1=-6+1 = -5

x+2 = -6+2 = -4

x+3 = -6+3 = -3

-3,-4,-5,-6 are the integers