It’s interesting to note that when we count natural numbers, we are basically just counting the consecutive integers! This might seem quite simple, but the concept of consecutive numbers has a broader perspective. Math is filled with the concept of consecutive integers, and you can find this concept almost everywhere. A large art of algebra problems is based on odd and even consecutive numbers that increase or decrease in different multiples.

In the beginning, you might find the concept of Consecutive integers tricky, but it’s all about using logic. A good foundation of the concept of consecutive integers can give you immense benefit in math, particularly in Algebra. In this blog, we will study consecutive numbers in detail. We will also discuss its properties and facts related to it.

Consecutive Numbers- Definition

Consecutive numbers are integers that have a difference of one. These numbers follow each other in order, i.e., smallest to largest. In other words, if n is an integer, the next consecutive numbers will be (n+1) and (n+2). These numbers follow each other in order from smallest to largest.

Types of Consecutive Integers

  • Normal Consecutive Integers: These are regular consecutive integers beginning from 1,2,3…. And so on. These integers follow the regular counting order.
  • Even Consecutive Integers: These are the set of integers where each integer is divisible by two and has a difference of two from the previous integer. Even consecutive integers are divisible by 2. For example, imagine x is an integer, then the sequence of integers will be x+2, x+4, x+6, etc. Even consecutive integers can be represented by the equation 2n+2 where n = 0,1,2,3..  and so on.
  • Odd Consecutive Integers: There are the set of integers that consist of odd numbers, and each integer follows the previous integer by a difference of two. For example, if we take x as an integer, the odd consecutive integers can be represented as x+2, x+4, x+6, etc, where x is an odd integer. Further, odd consecutive integer can be represented in an expression as 2n+1 where n= 0,1,2,2…and so on.

Representation of Consecutive Integers in Algebra

Consecutive numbers can be easily identified and recognized in terms of counting numbers. But when it comes to algebra, the representation differs a lot. Consecutive numbers are widely used in algebra, and hence it is important to understand the representation of these numbers in the algebraic form.

Following are the examples of algebraic equations which represent consecutive numbers in various form:

Example 1 : (n,  n+1,  n+2, n+3 , n+4 , n+5 )

Example 2 : ( n-4, n-3 , n-2, n-1, n, n+1, n+2)

Some Facts And Properties Of Consecutive Integers

  • The difference between consecutive integers, be it odd or even, is always two.
  • In the case where there is an even number of digits in a set of consecutive numbers, like a set of six or four, e.g. ( 2,3,4,5), then the sum of all integers is not divisible by a number of digits in the set. 2+3+4+5= 14 is not divisible by 4.
  • In the case where there is an odd number of digits in a set of consecutive integers, like a set of three or five, e.g. ( 1,2,3), then the sum of all integers is divisible by the number of digits in the set. For example, 1+2+3= 6 is divisible by 3.

I hope this blog helped you get a crystal clear understanding of consecutive integers. Consecutive integers have a wide range of applications in algebra. Cuemath is an online math learning platform that can help you solve a variety of problems based on consecutive integers through visualization in order to help you develop a crystal clear understanding of the topic.