ANSWER :
7
EXPLANATION :
Note that consecutive odd integers differ by 2.
Let x = first odd integer
then the next odd integers will be 2 more than the previous odd integer.
That will be :
x + 2 = second odd integer
x + 4 = third odd integer
x + 6 = fourth odd integer
x + 8 = fifth odd integer
The sum of 5 odd integers is 55
So the equation will be :
[tex]x+(x+2)+(x+4)+(x+6)+(x+8)=55[/tex]Simplify and solve for x :
[tex]\begin{gathered} 5x+20=55 \\ 5x=55-20 \\ 5x=35 \\ x=\frac{35}{5} \\ x=7 \end{gathered}[/tex]Since x is the smallest odd integer, the answer is 7.
