Two consecutive odd numbers

Math Central

Quandaries & Queries

Question from prinsilla, a student:

of all pairs of consecutive odd integers whose sum is greater than 75. find the pair whose sum is least?

Hi there.

Let a = the smaller of the two numbers. Then a+2 is the other number, right?

So you have this:
a + (a+2) > 75

and you know a is odd.

Solve for a. What's the smallest a that is odd and satisfies the inequality?

Cheers,
Stephen La Rocque.

Math Central is supported by the University of Regina and The Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences.