document.write( "Question 704261: If the average of three different positive integers is 5, then the least possible product of these numbers is:
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Algebra.Com's Answer #433999 by AnlytcPhil(1810)\"\" \"About 
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document.write( "To have an average of 5, the sum of the three must be 15.\r\n" );
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document.write( "Here is a fact about positive numbers we can use:\r\n" );
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document.write( "If two positive numbers have a certain sum, their\r\n" );
document.write( "product is largest when they are closest together\r\n" );
document.write( "and smallest when they are farthest apart.\r\n" );
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document.write( "However, here we have three integers with that sum, not \r\n" );
document.write( "just two.  So that complicates matters\r\n" );
document.write( "a bit.\r\n" );
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document.write( "But, we can consider only two numbers and use that\r\n" );
document.write( "fact above. Here's how:\r\n" );
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document.write( "Suppose the three integers are a, b, and c, where \r\n" );
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document.write( "a < b < c.  We can consider just two numbers,\r\n" );
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document.write( "(a+b) and c.\r\n" );
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document.write( "We want to choose (a+b) and c as far apart as possible.\r\n" );
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document.write( "To do that we choose (a+b) as small as possible, which is 3,\r\n" );
document.write( "when a=1 and b=2, and that choice will make c as much larger \r\n" );
document.write( "than 3 as possible.  In order to have sum 15, c must be 12,\r\n" );
document.write( "and 12 is as far away from 3 as we can get.  So the smallest \r\n" );
document.write( "possible product is 1*2*12 = 24.\r\n" );
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document.write( "Edwin
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