Question

If the smaller of two consecutive even integers is a multiple of , which of the following could NOT be the sum of these two integers?
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Answer Choices

  • A.
  • B.
  • C.
  • D.
  • E.

Steps

ExplanationCalculationsHelp
We translate "two consecutive even integers" by letting the smaller be and the next be .
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TRANS5-A
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We translate "the smaller is a multiple of 6" by writing , where is an integer.
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TRANS5-E
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We divide both sides of the equation by 2 to find in terms of .
We translate "the sum of these two integers" by forming their sum.
We substitute into the sum and simplify.
We test the answer choices and observe that a sum of the form always has remainder 2 when divided by 12. Option B is 30, and dividing 30 by 12 gives a remainder of 6, so 30 cannot be written as .
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Final Answer

B