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Verbal Arithmetic - Wikipedia

Verbal arithmetic, also known as alphametics, is a type of mathematical puzzle where letters represent digits. The goal is to deduce the digit each letter represents by solving equations like word problems. For example, in "SEND+MORE=MONEY", S=9, E=5, N=6, etc. Solving these puzzles involves logical deductions and testing possibilities until reaching the unique solution. Cryptarithms provide examples for algorithms to systematically test all letter-digit permutations.

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166 views7 pages

Verbal Arithmetic - Wikipedia

Verbal arithmetic, also known as alphametics, is a type of mathematical puzzle where letters represent digits. The goal is to deduce the digit each letter represents by solving equations like word problems. For example, in "SEND+MORE=MONEY", S=9, E=5, N=6, etc. Solving these puzzles involves logical deductions and testing possibilities until reaching the unique solution. Cryptarithms provide examples for algorithms to systematically test all letter-digit permutations.

Uploaded by

Sai Aravind
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Verbal arithmetic

Verbal arithmetic, also known as alphametics, cryptarithmetic,


cryptarithm or word addition, is a type of mathematical game
consisting of a mathematical equation among unknown numbers,
whose digits are represented by letters. The goal is to identify the
value of each letter. The name can be extended to puzzles that use
non-alphabetic symbols instead of letters.

The equation is typically a basic operation of arithmetic, such as


addition, multiplication, or division. The classic example, published
in the July 1924 issue of Strand Magazine by Henry Dudeney,[1] is:

The solution to this puzzle is O = 0, M = 1, Y = 2, E = 5, N = 6, D = 7,


R = 8, and S = 9.

Traditionally, each letter should represent a different digit, and (as


an ordinary arithmetic notation) the leading digit of a multi-digit
number must not be zero. A good puzzle should have a unique
solution, and the letters should make up a phrase (as in the
example above).

Verbal arithmetic can be useful as a motivation and source of


exercises in the teaching of algebra.

History
Cryptarithmic puzzles are quite old and their inventor is unknown.
An 1864 example in The American Agriculturist[2] disproves the
popular notion that it was invented by Sam Loyd. The name
"cryptarithm" was coined by puzzlist Minos (pseudonym of Simon
Vatriquant) in the May 1931 issue of Sphinx, a Belgian magazine of
recreational mathematics, and was translated as "cryptarithmetic"
by Maurice Kraitchik in 1942.[3] In 1955, J. A. H. Hunter introduced
the word "alphametic" to designate cryptarithms, such as
Dudeney's, whose letters form meaningful words or phrases.[4]

Types of cryptarithms
Types of cryptarithm include the alphametic, the digimetic, and the
skeletal division.

Alphametic
A type of cryptarithm in which a set of words is written down in
the form of a long addition sum or some other mathematical
problem. The object is to replace the letters of the alphabet
with decimal digits to make a valid arithmetic sum.
Digimetic
A cryptarithm in which digits are used to represent other

Skeletal division
A long division in which most or all of the digits are replaced by
symbols (usually asterisks) to form a cryptarithm.
Reverse cryptarithm
A rare variation where a formula is written, and the solution is
the corresponding cryptarithm whose solution is the formula
given.
Solving cryptarithms
Solving a cryptarithm by hand usually involves a mix of deductions
and exhaustive tests of possibilities. For instance the following
sequence of deductions solves Dudeney's SEND+MORE = MONEY
puzzle above (columns are numbered from right to left):

S E N D
+ M O R E
= M O N E Y

1. From column 5, M = 1 since it is the only carry-over possible


from the sum of two single digit numbers in column 4.
2. Since there is a carry in column 5, O must be less than or equal
to M (from column 4). But O cannot be equal to M, so O is less
than M. Therefore O = 0.
3. Since O is 1 less than M, S is either 8 or 9 depending on
whether there is a carry in column 4. But if there were a carry in
column 4, N would be less than or equal to O (from column 3).
This is impossible since O = 0. Therefore there is no carry in
column 3 and S = 9.
4. If there were no carry in column 3 then E = N, which is
impossible. Therefore there is a carry and N = E + 1.
5. If there were no carry in column 2, then ( N + R ) mod 10 = E,
and N = E + 1, so ( E + 1 + R ) mod 10 = E which means ( 1 + R )
mod 10 = 0, so R = 9. But S = 9, so there must be a carry in
column 2 so R = 8.
6. To produce a carry in column 2, we must have D + E = 10 + Y.
7. Y is at least 2 so D + E is at least 12.
8. The only two pairs of available numbers that sum to at least 12
are (5,7) and (6,7) so either E = 7 or D = 7.
9. Since N = E + 1, E can't be 7 because then N = 8 = R so D = 7.
10. E can't be 6 because then N = 7 = D so E = 5 and N = 6.
11. D + E = 12 so Y = 2.

The use of modular arithmetic often helps. For example, use of


mod-10 arithmetic allows the columns of an addition problem to be
treated as simultaneous equations, while the use of mod-2
arithmetic allows inferences based on the parity of the variables.

In computer science, cryptarithms provide good examples to


illustrate the brute force method, and algorithms that generate all
permutations of m choices from n possibilities. For example, the
Dudeney puzzle above can be solved by testing all assignments of
eight values among the digits 0 to 9 to the eight letters
S,E,N,D,M,O,R,Y, giving 1,814,400 possibilities. They also provide
good examples for backtracking paradigm of algorithm design.

Other information
When generalized to arbitrary bases, the problem of determining if
a cryptarithm has a solution is NP-complete.[5] (The generalization
is necessary for the hardness result because in base 10, there are
only 10! possible assignments of digits to letters, and these can be
checked against the puzzle in linear time.)

Alphametics can be combined with other number puzzles such as


Sudoku and Kakuro to create cryptic Sudoku and Kakuro.
Longest alphametics
Anton Pavlis constructed an alphametic in 1983 with 41 addends:

SO+MANY+MORE+MEN+SEEM+TO+SAY+THAT+
THEY+MAY+SOON+TRY+TO+STAY+AT+HOME+
SO+AS+TO+SEE+OR+HEAR+THE+SAME+ONE+
MAN+TRY+TO+MEET+THE+TEAM+ON+THE+
MOON+AS+HE+HAS+AT+THE+OTHER+TEN
=TESTS

(The answer is that TRANHYSMOE=9876543210.)[6]

See also
Diophantine equation
Mathematical puzzles
Permutation
Puzzles
Sideways Arithmetic From Wayside School - A book whose plot
revolves around these puzzles

References
1. H. E. Dudeney, in Strand Magazine vol. 68 (July 1924), pp. 97
and 214.
2. "No. 109 Mathematical puzzle". American Agriculturist. 23
(12). December 1864. p. 349.
3. Maurice Kraitchik, Mathematical Recreations (1953), pp. 79-
80.
4. J. A. H. Hunter, in the Toronto Globe and Mail (27 October
1955), p. 27.
5. David Eppstein (1987). "On the NP-completeness of
cryptarithms" (PDF). SIGACT News. 18 (3): 38–40.
doi:10.1145/24658.24662.
6. Pavlis, Anton. "Crux Mathematicorum" (PDF). Canadian
Mathematical Society. Canadian Mathematical Society.
Retrieved 14 December 2016.

Learn more
This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain
unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to
improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (July 2010)
(Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Martin Gardner, Mathematics, Magic, and Mystery. Dover


(1956)
Journal of Recreational Mathematics, had a regular
alphametics column.
Jack van der Elsen, Alphametics. Maastricht (1998)
Kahan S., Have some sums to solve: The complete alphametics
book, Baywood Publishing, (1978)
Brooke M. One Hundred & Fifty Puzzles in Crypt-Arithmetic.
New York: Dover, (1963)
Hitesh Tikamchand Jain, ABC of Cryptarithmetic/Alphametics.
India(2017)

External links
Solution using Matlab code and tutorial
Cryptarithms at cut-the-knot
Weisstein, Eric W. "Alphametic". MathWorld.
Weisstein, Eric W. "Cryptarithmetic". MathWorld.
Alphametics and Cryptarithms

Alphametics solvers

Alphametics Solver!
Alphametics Puzzle Solver
Android app to solve Crypt Arithmatic problems
Alphametic Solver written in Python
An online tool to create and solve Alphametics and
Cryptarithms
An online tool to solve, create, store and retrieve alphametics -
over 4000 English alphametics available with solutions

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