Alphametic
This is an alphametic (or ‘word sum’) with a difference. Most alphametic puzzles involve addition or subtraction. This problem is a long multiplication sum.
Each of the letters in the puzzle represents one of the digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9. However, M = A and H= C – so only nine of the available digits are used.
M | A | T | H | S | ||||
S | Y | M | S | |||||
| | ||||||||
* | * | * | * | * | * | |||
* | * | * | * | * | * | |||
* | * | * | * | * | * | |||
 | ||||||||
| E | X | C | E | L | L | E | N | T |
You now have enough information to solve the puzzle, but it may help you to know that SYMS is a prime number and that MATHS is a product of two primes.
Given that SYMS is the nth prime number, can you find or estimate the value of n ?
