Let us assume the first number = x
Then
The second number = x + 1
The third number = x +2
The fourth number = x + 3
Then we can write the equation as
x + x+ 1 + x + 2 + x+ 3 = 40
4x + 6 = 40
4x = 40 - 6
4x = 34
x = 34/4
= 17/2
Then
The second number = x + 1
= (17/2) + 1
= (17 + 2)/2
= 19/2
So the second consecutive number is 19/2
