Question

Mark, Taylor, & Brian's ages are consecutive whole numbers. Mark is the youngest, and Brian is the oldest. The sum of their ages is 111. How old is Taylor?

Answer 1

Since the numbers are consecutive whole numbers, you can set up the following equation to find their individual ages:


`x + (x + 1) + (x + 2) = 111`

x will represent Mark's age, (x+1) will represent Taylor's age, and (x+2) will represent Brian's age.

Simplify the equation by combining like terms.


`x + x + x = 3x`

`1 + 2 = 3`

`3x + 3 = 111`

Subtract 3 from both sides.


`3x = 108`

Divide both sides by 3 to get x by itself.


`x = 36`

(x+1) is used to represent Taylor's age, so plug in your x value.


`36 + 1 = 37`

Taylor's age is 37.