AIBU to think this KS3 maths homework is a bit hard or am I a bit thick?

[kicker]

A x E = DI, B x E = AE, C x E = C, D x E = IA, E x E = BA,
F x E = E, G x E = JB, H x E = GI, I x E = FB, J x E = AC

I A B E are even

I know. It's the bad maths puzzle. I hate it for introducing misconceptions into kids understanding of Algebra .

from trial and error using J=5 from a PP, and C is 0... E is 8, B is 6, A is 4

C=0
F=1
Then we have the tens digit only repeating once, which means E=8 (doesn't work for any other single digit number).
The rest you can work out by substituting what you already know.

Looks like a good homework, what I used to call 'airport mathematics', for a start if C x A = C, then A must be 1 but in this list there are two possibilities, F = 1 too, maybe you've a typo?

CxE=C means E is 1 or C is 0. Must be C is 0 based on other clues.

Then JxE=A0 means J and E are 5 and 2. E can't be 5 based on other clues so E=2 and J=5.

I'd be tempted to do the rest by trial and error starting with E x E = BA

So If E = 4 then B =1 and A =6 but the I x E = FB doesn't work as FB would need to be even and it isn't.

E=5, B=2, A=5 wrong
E=6, B=3, A=6 wrong
E=7, B=4, A=9 => I x 7= F4 (14, 84 could be right)
E=8, B=6, A =4 => I x 8 = F6 (16, 56)
E=9, B=8, A=1 => Ix9 =F8 (18)

and so on

If it’s not Algebra then it’s just nonsense. This isn’t maths - it’s bollocks.

There's a lot of Mathematics in there.it requires using many of the properties of multiplication.

G x E = Fifty something - so times tables it's either 54 or 56
If 54 then G=9
But H x E = GI and no even times table goes up to Ninety something (for up to 9x)
So 56, and G is 7, E is 8

So supposedly every letter is a different digit? I’d that the starting point? And you have to work out which is which?

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

It is a good maths-logic problem for top set KS3 I would say.
A terrible homework for mid-low set anyone.

Ah Cach, you beat me to it! Congrats!

@onthenaughtystepagain

I did maths at university - I know the properties of multiplication but there’s no instruction - without a actual instruction you could just say ‘they’re all zero’ and it works.

If, like a PP states that’s they’re the individual digits 0-9 then there’s a tangible starting point.

There's a lot of Mathematics in there.it requires using many of the properties of multiplication.

But it teaches bad algebra and bad notation

@Merryoldgoat

I totally agree. In fact them all being zero is a more mathmatical answer

In order A-J: 4,6,0,3,8,1,7,9,2,5.

One you get C and F you can narrow what E must be by considering E*E and discard all but 2.

But it is horrendous as a PP stated. AE is defined algebraically as A*E. They want it to mean 10A+E

@greeneggshamandchips

Please can you explain this? I literally have no idea what it means which really concerns me...

AB does not meant AB like it should in good notation. It meant (Ax10 +B).

Damn - beaten to it but agree with Cach. That was fun. Or yes they could all be 0

I think there's at least 1 misprint.

C x E = C implies E = 1, the identity
F x E = E Implies F = 1, the identity

E x E = BA implies E is 5-9, to get a 2 digit square number

So there seem to be a number of contradictions.

So a is one digit between 0 and 9 and b is a different digit between 0 and 9. Normally in algebra AB means "A times B", but this puzzle makes no attempt to respect place value (eg tens and units).

There's a lot of maths in it but it us an extremely bad maths homework

onthe No. you've forgotten about 0, see further upthread.

But they have been told it is a code
I think it is fine maths homework for a top set KS3.
It is using logic and maths, just not algebra.

It doesn't look like algebra as they are using a x sign and capital letters.

It may be that instructions were given (written or oral) that AB means a two digit number with A in the tens column and B in the units column. The use of x suggested to me that would be the case anyway as otherwise the notation would be mixed (sometimes using x and sometimes not)

This is the sort of thing that completely put me off school in general ...so humiliating if you don't get it ....