Name: Amanda
Level: Middle
Question:
Find two consecutive negative intergers whose product is 182.
Hi Amanda,
This is a problem where you can make an intellegent estimate of the answer and then correct the estimate to reach the answer.
First, if you find two consecutive positive integers whose product is 182 then you can put a minus sign in front of each of them and you will have two consecutive negative integers whose product is 182. Thus I am going to look for positive integers.
The two positive integers are very close to each other, one is just one more than the other. If the two were the same, say they are both the integer n, then n times n would be 182, and hence n would be the sqare root of 182. This is my estimate, I think one of the two integers is approximately the square root of 182.
Use your calculator and find the square root of 182. Round it to an integer. This is probably one of the two positive integers I am looking for.
Penny