Mav is older than Justin. Their ages are consecutive integers. Find Mav's age if the product of their ages is 42.

1 answer

Let's assume Mav's age is x. Since their ages are consecutive integers, Justin's age would be x+1.

We are given that the product of their ages is 42:
x*(x+1) = 42

Expanding the equation:
x^2 + x = 42

Rearranging the equation:
x^2 + x - 42 = 0

Factoring the quadratic equation:
(x + 7)(x - 6) = 0

Setting each factor equal to zero:
x + 7 = 0 or x - 6 = 0

Solving each equation:
x = -7 or x = 6

Since we cannot have a negative age, Mav's age is 6.