8
8
,
1
0
1
,
2
6
5
,
8
2
2
,
7
8
4
=
1
,
0
1
2
,
6
5
8
,
2
2
7
,
8
4
8
The above equation is interesting in that
-
on the left side, the denominator 8 is the leading digit of the numerator;
-
the 13-digit number on the right side is the numerator on the left side with its leading digit 8 moved to the back, the rest of the 12 digits 101,265,822,784 staying put.
Now, as shown below, something similar happens with a 22-digit number:
7
7
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
=
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
7
,
where
-
on the left side, the denominator 7 is the leading digit of the numerator;
-
the 22-digit number on the right side is the numerator on the left side with its leading digit 7 moved to the back, the rest of the 21 digits staying put.
What is the digit sum of this 22-digit number?
Let a be the blank 21-digit number. Then the equation is 7 7 ⋅ 1 0 2 1 + a = 1 0 a + 7 , which simplifies to a = 6 9 7 ( 1 0 2 1 − 7 ) = 1 0 1 4 4 9 2 7 5 3 6 2 3 1 8 8 4 0 5 7 9 . This has digit sum 8 9 , so the full 22-digit number has digit sum 9 6 .