What You Need to Know About Consecutive Numbers

What You Need to Know About Consecutive Numbers The concept of consecutive numbers may seem straightforward, but if you search the internet, youll find slightly differing views about what this term means. Consecutive numbers  are numbers that follow each other in order from smallest to largest, in regular counting order, notes  Study.com. Put another way,  consecutive numbers are numbers that  follow each other in order, without gaps, from smallest to largest, according to  MathIsFun. And  Wolfram MathWorld  notes: Consecutive numbers (or more properly, consecutive  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹integers) are integers n1  and n2  such that n2–n1   1 such that n2 follows immediately after n1.​ Algebra problems often ask about properties of consecutive odd or even numbers, or consecutive numbers that increase by multiples of three, such as 3, 6, 9, 12. Learning about consecutive numbers, then, is a bit trickier than is at first apparent. Yet it is an important concept to understand in math, particularly in algebra. Consecutive Number Basics The numbers 3, 6, 9 are not consecutive numbers, but they are consecutive multiples of 3, which means that the numbers are adjacent integers. A problem may ask about consecutive even numbers- 2, 4, 6, 8, 10- or consecutive odd numbers- 13, 15, 17- where you take one even number and then the very next even number after that or one odd number and the very next odd number. To represent consecutive numbers algebraically, let one of the numbers be x. Then  the next consecutive numbers would be x 1, x 2, and x 3. If the question calls for consecutive even numbers, you would have to ensure that the first number you choose is even. You can do this by letting the first number be 2x instead of x. Take care when selecting the next consecutive even number, though. It is  not  2x 1 since that would not be an even number. Instead, your next even numbers would be 2x 2,  2x 4, and 2x 6. Similarly, consecutive odd numbers would take the form: 2x 1, 2x 3, and 2x 5. Examples of Consecutive Numbers Suppose the sum of two consecutive numbers is 13. What are the numbers? To solve the problem, let the first number be x and the second number be x 1. Then: x ( x 1) 132x 1 132x 12x 6 So, your numbers are 6 and 7. An Alternate Calculation Suppose you had chosen your consecutive numbers differently from the start. In that case, let the first number be x - 3, and the second number be x - 4. These numbers are still consecutive numbers: one comes directly after the other, as follows: (x - 3) (x - 4) 132x - 7 132x 20x 10 Here  you find that x equals 10, while in the previous problem, x was equal to 6. To clear up this seeming discrepancy, substitute 10 for x, as follows: 10 - 3 710 - 4 6 You then have the same answer as in the previous problem. Sometimes  it may be easier if you choose different variables for your consecutive numbers. For example, if you had a problem involving the product of five consecutive numbers, you could calculate it using either of the following two methods: x (x 1) (x 2) (x 3) (x 4)or(x - 2) (x - 1) (x) (x 1) (x 2) The second equation is easier to calculate, however, because it can take advantage of the properties of the  difference of squares. Consecutive Number Questions Try these consecutive number problems. Even if you can figure out some of them without the methods discussed previously, try them using consecutive variables for practice: Four consecutive even numbers have a sum of 92. What are the numbers?Five consecutive numbers have a sum of zero. What are the numbers?Two consecutive odd numbers have a product of 35. What are the numbers?Three consecutive multiples of five have a sum of 75. What are the numbers?The product of two consecutive numbers is 12. What are the numbers?If the sum of four consecutive integers is 46, what are the numbers?The sum of five consecutive even integers is 50. What are the numbers?If you subtract the sum of two consecutive numbers from the product of the same two numbers, the answer is 5. What are the numbers?Do there exist two consecutive odd numbers with a product of 52?Do there exist seven consecutive integers with a sum of 130? Solutions 20, 22, 24, 26-2, -1, 0, 1, 25, 720, 25, 303, 410, 11, 12, 136, 8, 10, 12, 14-2 and -1 OR 3 and 4No. Setting up equations and solving leads to a non-integer solution for x.No. Setting up equations and solving leads to a non-integer solution for x.