To ask for help with DS maths homework

[Mumski45]

Even though I have a maths degree!
He is 10 and in year 6. I can find a 'cryptarithm solver' using google but need to explain strategy to him so that doesn't help!

I can hear muttering and I think dh is onto his 3rd sheet of A4.

I am hiding with a cup of tea in case of mathematician rage.

I got
for 0 -9 in order: B I J D G H F A C E

Best strategy is to turn into additons.

You can then see that A=F+1 and J=I+1
Looking at columns in one G+D = A and in another G+D = C

Either C, A differ by 1 or are 0 and 9
A and C both start numbers so are not 0, so differ by 1
But A=F+1, so C= A+1
So F,A,C increase by 1.
In second sum, f+c =g in fourth column. F AND C are both even or both odd so sum is even. We know G is even as it is double J (or 2J-10)
This means there is no carry over abd we cab decouple

I F and G H J

• C + D G J - --- J G A E G

Now it's easy!
How did your child not spot this?

However

Oh wait! I don't think they are the same are they? So the j in a) isn't the same as the j in b) ?

Emmazim we got the same. But those numbers don't work if you plug them into question a) which is why I am thinking they aren't related?

So basically

B=0
I=1
J=2
D=3
G=4
H=5
F=6
A=7
C=8
E=9

But Year 6 homework....really??!

It definitely is a Y6 problem. I recognise it from the Collins book. I have the answer but I don't know if you want that. I would write a little note just explaining DS had tried for x amount of time but couldn't solve it. Send in his working out. As a teacher I would be more than happy with that!

Are you sure Tyranny have just checked and I'm sure it works for both?

Is there one answer, or are there multiple possible answers for each question, Keep?

This is mind blowing! DH wants to know which school your DS goes to...and are they secretly recruiting for Mensa?!

Also, those saying G=2J, not necessarily...because it may be that G

No it's ok I made a mistake

I don't think it's incredibly clear whether 'the same letter means the same number' means that all the 'As' in each sum means the same number, but it could be a different number in question 4a and 4b, or whether 4a and 4b are meant to be used together to solve the problem!

My first reading of it was that he had two tasks: 4a and 4b, but other people have solved them as one...

Wooterus you're right about the G=2J sorry Mumski45

Mind frazzled, time for bed!

What are you all on about?

So emmazim it looks like you found a solution, but not necessarily the only solution! Also, I cross posted with you, so read your solution and started working it through...but J doesn't necessarily have to be 2, it just has to be I+1 to end up equalling zero once 1 has been "borrowed". So could be almost any digit!

I'm off to bed. My 8 months pregnant brain can't cope...!

Am I the only one enjoying the fact that the solution suggested about almost reads 'Bitchface'?

I've just looked for my Collins file but I can't find it. I will have a look in the morning and post if I find it. But honestly if you just write what you've written here then I'm sure his teacher will be happy with that!

That was my reading too, lougle. I don't think they'd be labelled a) and b) otherwise, it would just be question 4.

I also suspect that there's more than one solution and this is more about reasoning about what numbers could go where than there being 1 correct solution to find. The fact the OP found 10 correct answers might back this up.

Better as a group activity though I would have thought.

Thanks all for your thoughts and calculations. I have gone through the suggested solution with DS. At that point I told him that 2J=G so G had to be 2,4,6 or 8 but couldn't be 0. He disagreed and said but if J is 5 then G would be 0. I then had to go through all trial and error options to prove there is only one answer.
To be fair to him when I explained it he understood each step but I don't think he could have made a start on his own.
I will send my workings in to school to show that we did it together (eventually after some very helpful MN assistance) and hopefully he will have learnt something from it.
I agree that it is more of a group activity though.
Thanks again to everyone I had been struggling with this on and off all day.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=JqZo07Ot-uA

My take on it.

Thanks, Billy for summing up this thread.

Yer one in a million!

Ok going in the reasoning they are different, some of us have solved b) with out a). But has anyone solved a) without b)?

Why should I learn Algebra? I have no intention of ever going there!

Yay solved it but b has to be done first I think.
I'm going to give it to my more able y6s next week :)

I have tried but there is more borrowing involved somewhere I am
Jut too tired to figure it out.

Because without borrowing, d = c +h and c -g? Unless g or h is 0 that makes no sense?

For those speculating on possible alternative solutions I found 10 to part a alone when I googled it. However there is not enough info in a or b alone to find a solution manually. Hence I moved on to doing them both together. Only one solution so far found which works for a and b at the same time.

It's an awesome problem but I think my year 10s would be outraged with that as a homework. Problem solving is best done with a teacher to hand I think.

death assuming you're joking? algebra is the basis for everything ever, it's just a written form of abstract thinking, which we all do. All the time. And I don't expect that question on a Saturday. Tut tut.