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Verbal Arithmetic

Cryptarithm puzzles involve replacing letters in mathematical equations with digits to solve for the values of each letter. A famous example is SEND+MORE=MONEY, where the letters represent digits with O=0, M=1, Y=2, E=5, N=6, D=7, R=8, S=9. Solving cryptarithms involves logical deductions and testing possibilities. Variations include using digits instead of letters or symbols instead of digits. Cryptarithms provide examples for algorithms and backtracking problem solving techniques.

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Nitesh singh
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366 views

Verbal Arithmetic

Cryptarithm puzzles involve replacing letters in mathematical equations with digits to solve for the values of each letter. A famous example is SEND+MORE=MONEY, where the letters represent digits with O=0, M=1, Y=2, E=5, N=6, D=7, R=8, S=9. Solving cryptarithms involves logical deductions and testing possibilities. Variations include using digits instead of letters or symbols instead of digits. Cryptarithms provide examples for algorithms and backtracking problem solving techniques.

Uploaded by

Nitesh singh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Cryptarithm

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
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 in 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

Cryptarithmic puzzles are quite old and their


inventor is not known. An 1864 example in The
American Agriculturist 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. In 1955, J. A. H. Hunter
introduced the word "alphametic" to designate
cryptarithms, such as Dudeney's, whose letters form
meaningful words or phrases.
Types of cryptarithm
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 digits.
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 cryptarithm
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):
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.

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