The sum of three consecutive numbers is eighty-four what is the smallest of the three numbers

Answer: 24

Step-by-step explanation: This problem states that the sum of 3 consecutive numbers is 84 and it asks us to find the smallest number.

3 consecutive numbers can be represented as follows.

X ⇒ first number

X + 1 ⇒ second number

X + 2 ⇒ third number

Since the sum of our 3 consecutive numbers is 84, our equation will read X + X + 1 + X + 2 = 84.

Simplifying on the left we get 3x + 3 = 84.

Subtracting 3 from both sides, we have 3x = 81.

Now we can divide both sides by 3 to get x = 27.

This means that 27 will be the smallest number.