Don't you mean "the sum of the squares ..."?
The sum of the squares of two consecutive whole numbers is 25. Find the numbers. Let the first be represented by x and the second by x+1.
Then x^2+(x+1)^2=25. Expanding, x^2+x^2+2x+1=25.
Rewriting this as a quadratic equation in standard form,
2x^2+2x+1=25, or 2x^2+2x-24=0. Simplifying, x^2+x-12=0.
Factoring, (x-3)(x+4)=0. Solving for x: x-3=0, so x=3; x+4=0, so x=-4.
Choose the positive x value: x=3. Then the next consecutive number is 2+1=3+1=4.
Check: Does 3^2 + 4^2 = 5^2 = 25? Yes.
The numbers are 3 and 4.
