Question

The sum of three consecutive odd intergers is 39. What is the smallest of these intergers?

Answer 1

Let's represent the smallest odd integer as x.

Since there are consecutive odd integers, the second odd integer would be x + 2 and the third odd integer would be x + 4.

The sum of these three odd integers can be represented as:
x + (x + 2) + (x + 4) = 39

Simplifying the equation, we get:
3x + 6 = 39

Subtracting 6 from both sides, we have:
3x = 33

Dividing both sides by 3, we get:
x = 11

Therefore, the smallest odd integer is 11.