A girl writes five consecutive positive integers on a blackboard. She then erases one of them. The sum of the remaining four numbers is 2025. What number did she erase?
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Step-by-Step Solution
Insight: This is a missing-term bounding puzzle — "five consecutive integers" forms a hidden AP with , and "erases one" means the visible sum is the full sum minus exactly one member. The membership constraint gives a tight inequality that pins the centre.
Exam route:
Step 1: Let the five integers be . Their total is .
Step 2: If the erased number is , then .
Step 3: Since must belong to the original set, .
Step 4: Substitute : .
Step 5: Left inequality: .
Step 6: Right inequality: .
Step 7: The centre of five consecutive integers is an integer, so .
Step 8: The erased number is .
Verification: the five integers are . Removing leaves . ✓
Learning route:
This is a missing-term bounding puzzle. The phrase "consecutive integers" means they form an AP with , and "erases one" means the visible sum equals the full sum minus exactly one member of the set.
Step 1: Centre the sequence. Let be the average. The integers are and their total is .
Step 2: Express the missing term. .
Step 3: Apply the membership bound. .
Step 4: Solve the compound inequality. .
Step 5: Since is an integer, . Then .
Trap: A common trap is assuming the erased number is the average of the remaining four numbers (), which is not even an integer. The average of the remaining four is shifted from the true centre because the missing term is not the centre.