Begin by cross-multiplying.

Distribute the on the left side and expand the polynomial on the right.

Combine like terms and rearrange to set the equation equal to zero.

Now we can isolate and solve for by adding to both sides.

Begin by cross-multiplying.

Distribute the on the left side and expand the polynomial on the right.

Combine like terms and rearrange to set the equation equal to zero.

Now we can isolate and solve for by adding to both sides.

Multiply both sides by :

Factor this using the -method. We split the middle term using two integers whose sum is and whose product is . These integers are :

Set each factor equal to 0 and solve separately:

or

Multiply both sides by :

Factor this using the -method. We split the middle term using two integers whose sum is and whose product is . These integers are :

Set each factor equal to 0 and solve separately:

or

Simplify the right side:

Isolate x:

Simplify the right side:

Isolate x:

First, use the distributive property to simplify the right side of the equation. This gives you

Then, subtract and add to both sides of the equation to get .

First, use the distributive property to simplify the right side of the equation. This gives you

Then, subtract and add to both sides of the equation to get .

Let a variable represent the smallest number in the set. Every consecutive number after the first number will be one unit greater than the other. Then, the four numbers that sum up to 98 are:

where every term in parenthesis represents a number. Add and solve for .

The smallest number is , and the largest number is . Therefore:

The correct answer is:

Multiply both sides by 2x:

Move all terms to one side:

Solve the quadratic: