Making a century

The number 100 can be written as

a + b c d e f g h i \large a + \frac{\overline{bcdef}}{\overline{ghi}} where a , b , c , d , e , f , g , h , i a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i are distinct integers from 1 to 9 (not necessarily in that order).

Find the value of a b c d e f g h i \overline {abcdefghi} .


Source: Shakuntala Devi's Puzzle to puzzle you


The answer is 369258714.

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1 solution

Ratul Pan
Feb 22, 2017

The solution is 3 69258 714 \large 3 \frac{69258}{714} i.e. 369258714 \boxed{369258714}

The solution is little lengthy but you have to take time to do the sum.

If the integer part is 1 .

The fraction becomes 1 99 × x x \large 1 \frac{99 \times x}{x}

The numerator of the fraction must be divisible by 9 as it will be a multiple of 99. That means the sum of digits in the numerator is a multiple of 9. The entire set of digits from 2 , 3 , . . , 9 2,3,..,9 add up to 1 less than a multiple of 9, so the denominator must be three digits that add up to 1 less than a multiple of 9. That way, any arrangement of the 5 remaining digits is divisible by 9.

The sums that are 1 less than a multiple of 9 are 8, 17, 26. The smallest possible 3-digit sum is 2 + 3 + 4 = 9 2+3+4=9 and the largest is 9 + 8 + 7 = 24 9+8+7=24 , so only 17 works. The sets of 3 digits from 2 , 3 , . . . , 9 2,3,...,9 that sum to 17 17 are: ( 2 , 6 , 9 ) , ( 2 , 7 , 8 ) , ( 3 , 5 , 9 ) , ( 3 , 6 , 8 ) , ( 4 , 5 , 8 ) , ( 4 , 6 , 7 ) (2, 6, 9), (2, 7, 8), (3, 5, 9), (3, 6, 8), (4, 5, 8), (4, 6, 7)

That's 6 sets, and there are 6 ways to arrange each set, so you have 36 possible denominators to test. Multiply each denominator by 99 and see if the result is a arrangement of the remaining digits.

To avoid the trial and error , we see that ,
99 × g h i 99 × g 23 = 9900 × g + 2277 > 9900 × g + 100 × g = 10000 g 99 \times \overline{ghi} \geq 99 \times \overline{g23} = 9900 \times g + 2277 > 9900 \times g + 100 \times g = 10000g
This makes g g and b b the same number .

Hence we discard 1.

If the integer part is 2

The fraction becomes 2 98 × x x \large 2 \frac{98 \times x}{x}

Then the fraction is an improper form of 98 and the numerator is divisible by 98. If you add the denominator to the numerator, you get a multiple of 9 as the total sum will be a multiple of 99. So the sum of the 3 digits in the denominator + the sum of the 5 digits in the numerator must be a multiple of 9. That's impossible, since the sum of all the digits is 1 + 3 + 4 + . . + 9 = 43 1 + 3 + 4 + .. + 9 = 43 is not a multiple of 9. That's easy...no testing required for 2.

If the integer part is 3

The fraction becomes 3 97 × x x \large 3 \frac{97 \times x}{x}

Then the numerator plus 2 times the denominator is divisible by 9 as the number will be a multiple of 99. Since the sum of digits is 1 + 2 + 4 + . . . + 9 = 42 1 + 2 + 4 + ...+ 9 = 42 is three less than a multiple of 9, then the denominator must have a sum that is 3 more than a multiple of 9. The sums go 3, 12, 21, 30.
The smallest possible 3-digit sum is 1 + 2 + 4 = 7 1+2+4=7 and the largest is 9 + 8 + 7 = 24 9+8+7=24 , so only 12 and 21 are feasible. (1, 2, 9), (1, 4, 7), (2, 4, 6), (4, 8, 9), (5, 7, 9), (6, 7, 8)

Again, 6 x 6 = 36 total denominators to test.
But 714 satisfies and hence the answer is 369258714 \boxed{369258714}

I would love if this puzzle had a "+" sign in it. I struggled to understand the problem because I inferred multiplication

Abel McElroy - 4 years, 3 months ago

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Thanks for your suggestion. I have made the corrections.

Ratul Pan - 4 years, 3 months ago

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Glad to help. Great problem! Thanks for sharing it.

Abel McElroy - 4 years, 3 months ago

For the first part, we can avoid the trial and error by noticing that 99 × g h i 99 × g 12 = 9900 × g + 1188 > 9900 × g + 100 × g = 10000 g 99 \times \overline{ghi} \geq 99 \times \overline{g12} = 9900 \times g + 1188 > 9900 \times g + 100 \times g = 10000 g . Hence b b has the same digit as g g .

Calvin Lin Staff - 4 years, 3 months ago

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Thanks sir. You are absolutely correct. I will make the proper changes in my solution. Just on a lighter note I think it would be 99 × g 23 99 \times \overline{g23} because we have used 1 1 previously as our ' a a ".

Ratul Pan - 4 years, 3 months ago

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True that! I forgot about a = 1 a = 1 . Luckily g 12 \overline{g12} worked out already :)

Calvin Lin Staff - 4 years, 3 months ago

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