So, to set this problem up, all you need to do is imagine that the smallest number of these consecutive integers is x. The next two numbers will be x+1, then x+2, and that, altogether, will equal 87. In a problem, this will look like this:
[tex]x+x+1+x+2=87[/tex]
All we need to do is solve for x! We can simplify the problem by combining like terms: