Question

The product of two consecutive even integers is 840. Find the integers.

Answer 1

Please NAME the integers.

Answer 2

28,30

Answer 3

@tkhunny

Answer 4

You just pulled those out of a hat? That's no good.

I did NOT ask for the value of the two integers. I asked you to NAME them.

Answer 5

can you solve it?
@tkhunny

Answer 6

You can. Have you named them, yet?

Answer 7

plz
@tkhunny

Answer 8

Please what? Name the integers!! You'll be half way done as soon as you do that.

Answer 9

idk

Answer 10

@tkhunny

Answer 11

Well, then you can't solve this problem. You need that tiny little bit of abstraction.

Why don't we just call them Steve and Bob. How's that?

Answer 12

ok @tkhunny

Answer 13

What do we know about Steve and Bob?

They are INTEGERS. 0, 1, 2, 3, ... -1, -2, -3, etc... If we get anything else, we're sunk.
They are EVEN integers. 0, 2, 4, ... -2, -4, -6, etc... If we get anything else, we're sunk.
They are CONSECUTIVE even integers.

Can you write a tiny equation that expresses the idea that Steve and Bob are consecutive, even integers? (Note: You will have to decide which is the GREATER of the two. It doesn't matter which one. Just pick one.)