Can you find a five-digit number that has no zeros, no ones, no digit is repeated, and:
the fourth digit is a quarter of the total of all of the digitsthe second digit is twice the first digitthe third digit is the largestthe last digit is the sum of the first two digits
Reasoning
We can start by labelling the digits as ABCDE.
We know that:
(i) B = 2 x A
and:
E = A + B
And using (i) we get:
E = A + (2 x A) (ii) E = 3 x A
If A = 1, this isn't allowed (as there are no 1's in the puzzle).
If A = 2, then B = 4, and E = 6.
If A = 3, then B = 6, and E = 9, but this isn't allowed (as C has to be the largest digit).
So, A = 2, B = 4, E = 6, and we now have to find C and D.
We also know that:
D = (A + B + C + D + E) ÷ 4
And using (i) and (ii) we get:
D = [A + (2 x A) + C + D + (3 x A)] ÷ 4
so:
3 x D = (6 x A) + C
so:
(iii) D = [(6 x A) + C] ÷ 3
C can only be 7, 8 or 9 (as it's the largest digit, and we've already found 6) and (iii) tells us that it must be a multiple of 3, which means that C = 9. Leaving D = 7.
So the final number is: 24976.
Double-Checking
The answer is 24976.
The fourth digit is a quarter of the total of all of the digits.
A + B + C + D + E = 2 + 4 + 9 + 7 + 6 = 28, and 28 ÷ 4 = 7.
The second digit is twice the first digit.
4 = 2 x 2.
The third digit is the largest.
9 is the largest digit.
The last digit is the sum of the first two digits.
6 = 2 + 4.
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Puzzle 18
Can you complete the following four 5-letter words?
The missing letters, in order, spell an animal.
--ute
c--el
st--g
car--
