Bohua Math Olympiad Class

Basic Cryptarithms

Kevin Yang & Stevie Chen

Sep 9, 2018
Credit to: Xiao Zhang and Hannah Zhang
 Bohua Math Olympiad Team
Spreadsheet
Missing:
• Angelina Ding 丁佳乐
• Emily Zhang
Missing some info:
• Isabella Xu 徐轶莎
• Allan Yu
• Kate Chen 陈思怡

Spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Dd2iSnmqy4sr
TBpEZbMkMgpgMVWvOyrRjIQym-L0FBc/edit#gid=0
 What are Cryptarithms?

Cryptarithm is a special name given to a puzzle in which all or several

digits of an arithmetic equation have been replaced by some type of
placeholder (usually letters in the alphabet or specific shapes).

Cryptarithm Rules
• Each letter/shape represents a unique digit.
• Numbers of two or more digits must not start with a zero.
• The solution is unique (unless otherwise stated).

Today, we’ll focus on arithmetic operations of decimal numbers,

where some or all of the digits are not shown.
 Start from a Couple Simple Examples
Example: What do the letters A and B stand for?

1
3 A
 B 5 From the units digit  A = 6
Tens digit: 3 + B + 1 = A = 6  B = 2
1 A 1

Try on your own: What is the three-digit number BUG?

B 4 3
Hint: work from the units digit
 6 U 1
BUG = 594
1 2 3 G

Most Common Strategy

Use properties of numbers and apply logical reasoning.
 Practice: Reconstruct Addition
What do the letters C, A, and T stand for?

C A T Hint: working from units digit

A T
C=6
 T A=5
T=3
7 0 9
 Reconstruct Multiplication
Example: What do the letters T and M stand for?

2 3
From the units digit  T = 1
 T T Then M = 5

2 M 3

Try on your own: What do the letters W, O, L, and F stand for?

W O F L W x 4 + possible carryover = F  W = 1 or 2
F x 4 = W  W must be even  W = 2
 4 W x 4 = 2 x 4 = 8  F= 8 or 9. Since Fx4 = 2  F=8
 O x 4 < 10  O = 1 (Why can’t O be 2?)
Units digit of (L x 4 + 3) = 1  L x 4 = 8
F L O W L=7 (Why can’t L be 2?)
(solved: WOLF = 2178)
 Alphametics
Alphametic is a cryptarithm whose letters form meaningful words or phrases.

E A T
 T H A T
A P P L E

(1) A is from a carry  A = 1

(2) T must be a number that ( T + carry from E+H ) >= 10, the carry here = 1  T = 9
(3) T + carry = 10  P = 0
(4) Unit digit: T + T = 9 + 9 = 18  E = 8
(5) Tens digit: A + A + 1 = 1 + 1 + 1 = 3  L = 3
(6) Hundreds digit: E + H = 10, since E = 8  H = 2

8 1 9
 9 2 1 9
1 0 0 3 8
 Homework #1 & #2
1. What is the sum 1+2+3+4+5+6 ... +20+21+22+23?

Pair up numbers: 1+23, 2+22, … , 11+13.

There are 11 pairs of 24, plus an extra 12 in the middle that hasn’t
been counted.

Therefore the answer is 11x24+12 = 276

2. What is the sum 3+6+9+12+15 ... +27+30+33+36+39?

Pair up numbers as in number 1: 3+39, 6+36, … , 18+24.

There are 6 pairs of 42, plus an extra 21 in the middle that hasn’t
been counted.

Therefore the answer is 6x42+21 = 273

 Homework #3 & #4
3. What is the sum 2-4+6-8+10-12+14-16+18-20... +1002-1004?

Pair up numbers: 2-4, 6-8, … ,1002-1004. Each pair adds up to -2.

There are 1004/2 = 502 numbers in the sequence (even only) and
there are 502/2 = 251 pairs (each pair contains two numbers).

Therefore the answer is 251*(-2) = -502

4. What is the value of (109 x 19) + (127 x 19) - (136 x 19)?

Each term is multiplied by 19:

(109+127-136) x 19 = 100 x 19 = 1900

 Homework #5 & #6
5. What is the value of (15 x 25) + (17 x 25) + (8 x 25)?

Each term is multiplied by 25:

(15+17+8) x 25 = 40 x 25 = 1000

8∗9∗10
6. What is the value of ?
30∗24∗27

8 ∗ 9 ∗ 10 8 9 10 1 1 1 𝟏
= ∗ ∗ = ∗ ∗ =
30 ∗ 24 ∗ 27 24 27 30 3 3 3 𝟐𝟕
 Homework #7 & #8

7. What is 1⁄6 of 2⁄5 of 3⁄4 of 1000?

1 2 3 3 2 1
= ∗ ∗ ∗ 1000 = ∗ ∗ ∗ 1000
6 5 4 6 4 5
1 1 1 1000
= ∗ ∗ ∗ 1000 = = 𝟓𝟎
2 2 5 2∗2∗5
8. What is 1/12 of 2/3 of 4/5 of 3/2 of 1500?

1 2 4 3 2∗3∗4
= ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗ 1500 = ∗ 1500
12 3 5 2 2 ∗ 3 ∗ 5 ∗ 12
4 ∗ 1500 1 ∗ 300
= = = 𝟏𝟎𝟎
5 ∗ 12 3
Optional Practice Problems
H must be 1 or 2
H=2 4E ends H  H even  H=2
 E must be 3 or 8
E=3 4H + carryover < 10
A=9 Carryover < 2
E=3

X – Y = 10, X*Y = 144

26  X=18, Y=8

3A+11B=31
A=3  B = 1 or 2
 after try, B=2
B=2 A=3

121 is only divisible by 11 and 1

22  3 coins add up to 11 cents
 coins are 2 nickels + 1 penny
 2 * 11 = 22 nickels

Failed X tests
Passed 7X tests
3  7X*25 – 50X = 375
X=3