Question

The sum of four consecutive integers is 74.

What is the first integer?

16
17
18
19

Answer 1

call the unknown first number x
four consecutive integers means integers "next" to each other, like 1,2,3,4 or 9,10,11,12
notice that each one is 1 bigger than the one before it.
If we start with the x as the first number, the next one up will be x+1
the one after that will be (x+1) + 1 (or x+2)
and the last one x+3

all 4 add up to 74:

x + (x+1) + (x+2) + (x+3) = 74

can you solve this for x ?

Answer 2

4x + 6 = 74
-6 -6

4x = 68
/4 /4

x = 17.

17 + 18 + 19 + 20 = 74

So the first would be 17