Define as the th smallest natural number such that all of the digits of is odd. For example, , , and .
Find the value of .
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Let f ( 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 1 , n ) = x .
We know intuitively that f ( 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 1 , n ) must be an odd number.
Then, we need to do a little bit of trick.
9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 1 x = 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 x − 9 x = 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ( x − 1 ) + 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 − 9 x
Suppose that x ≤ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 .
0 < 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 − 9 x < 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 and therefore 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 − 9 x cannot have any effect on the digits over billion.
And since x − 1 is an even number, the billionth digit must be an even number. This doesn't make sense, therefore x ≥ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 .
Then let's assume that 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 ≤ x ≤ 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 .
Note that
1 × 9 = 0 9 ; 3 × 9 = 2 7 ; 5 × 9 = 4 5 ; 7 × 9 = 6 3 ; 9 × 9 = 8 1 .
And therefore if the last two digits of x is odd, the last two digits of 9 x is also odd.
But then note that (yes there're a lot of things to note, sorry.)
Note A. 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 1 x = 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 x − 9 x = 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ( x − 2 ) + 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 − 9 x
So the last 9 digits of 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 1 x is the same as 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 − 9 x , which is larger than 0 but also smaller than 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 . Then again, no effects on the digits over billionth.
Also, if the last two digits of 9 x is odd, the tenth digit of 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 − 9 x must be even.
Therefore, the tenth digit of x cannot be odd. (since the unit's digit is always odd.)
Then by the information we know, the smallest possible that x can be is 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 .
But then by <Note A>, we also know that x − 2 should only have odd digits.
Therefore we can say that x follows the form ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ [ even number ] 1 .
Possible values for x are: 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 , 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 4 1 , 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 1 , 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8 1 .
We can also see that 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 0 1 maybe would satisfy the condition.
What about 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 2 1 then?
Sadly it can't go into the answers' team.
Why, you may ask.
Calculate 1 3 2 1 × 9 and you get 1 1 8 8 9 , and that 1 would leave the thousandth digit of 9 x as an odd number, which shouldn't happen, because then 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 − 9 x would have its thousandth digit as an even number.
But from 1 3 4 1 × 9 , things get better again and we get 1 2 0 6 9 .
Then possible values for x in this section are: 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 4 1 , 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 6 1 , 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 8 1 , 1 1 1 1 1 1 4 0 1 .
Do the same with above and we see that 1 1 1 1 1 1 5 2 1 and 1 1 1 1 1 1 5 4 1 are impossible.
Then possible values for x in this section are: 1 1 1 1 1 1 5 6 1 , 1 1 1 1 1 1 5 8 1 , 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 0 1 .
From above, I only guessed, using the terms "possible values" and "maybe would satisfy".
But they really do satisfy the conditions. Reflect on and enjoy these beautiful numbers.
9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 1 × 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 1 × 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 4 1 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 1 × 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 1 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 1 × 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8 1 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 1 × 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 0 1 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 1 × 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 4 1 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 1 × 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 6 1 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 1 × 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 8 1 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 1 × 1 1 1 1 1 1 4 0 1 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 1 × 1 1 1 1 1 1 5 6 1 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 1 × 1 1 1 1 1 1 5 8 1 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 1 × 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 0 1 = 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 1 1 = 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 7 3 1 = 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 5 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 5 5 1 = 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 3 7 1 = 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 1 9 1 = 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 3 9 9 9 9 9 9 7 9 3 1 = 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 5 9 9 9 9 9 9 7 7 5 1 = 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 7 9 9 9 9 9 9 7 5 7 1 = 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 7 3 9 1 = 1 1 1 1 1 1 5 5 9 9 9 9 9 9 5 9 5 1 = 1 1 1 1 1 1 5 7 9 9 9 9 9 9 5 7 7 1 = 1 1 1 1 1 1 5 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 5 5 9 1
See the pattern? It's so beautiful! ...to my eyes, at least.
So anyway, the answer to this problem is:
n = 1 ∑ 1 0 f ( 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 1 , n ) = 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 × 1 0 + 1 2 1 + 1 4 1 + 1 6 1 + 1 8 1 + 2 0 1 + 3 4 1 + 3 6 1 + 3 8 1 + 4 0 1 + 5 6 1 = 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 8 5 0 .