Question

Tripling the greater of two consecutive even integers given the same result as subtracting 10fromm the lesser even integer. What are the integers?

Answer 1

The integers are -8 and -6.

To find these, first assume that the first integer is x. Then, because it is an even integer, assume the next is x + 2. Now we can write an equation to solve.

Tripling the greater = subtracting 10 from the lesser

3(x + 2) = x - 10 ----> Distribute the 3

3x + 6 = x - 10 ----> Subtract x from both sides

2x + 6 = -10 ----> Subtract 6 from both sides

2x = -16 ----> Divide both sides by 2

x = -8

Which is the first integer. We then can determine that the second one, which is two higher than the first, would be -6.