To answer this item, we let x be the first positive integer. Then, the second would be x+1. Their reciprocals would be 1/x and 1/(x+1). Then, the equation that would best represent the scenario above is,
1/x + 1/(x+1) = 17/72
Solving the equation above,
((x+1) + x) / (x)(x+1) = 17/72
If we take the numerators of both sides of the equation,
(x+1) + x = 17
The value of x from the equation is 8 and x+1 would be 9. Thus, the answer would be 8 and 9.
