Someone asked me to solve it in no time - his alphametic equation using p, q & r
I chose another form, asking you to solve it without any help, no software, no calculators, no pen and paper,
WW+HH+YY=WHY
WHY this choice of letters?
More fun!
Factor-out 11 on the left. We are looking to multiply a number by 11 such that the sod of the product is that number. In order to get a three digit product with three different digits, we start by trying 11 x 12. Here, the sod(132) = 6 and so 12 doesn't work: 6 is 6 less than 12. Each successive multiplicand adds
2 to the sod, e.g, sod(11 x 13) = 8, but only
1 to the multiplicand, bringing the two numbers closer by 1. So, to get from a difference of 6 down to 0, we go up 6 multiplicands from 12 to 18, and it works. Sod(198)=18.
Edited on February 7, 2022, 2:47 am