Puzzles Interview Question:

Substitute digits for the letters to make the following Division true

O U T
-------------
S T E M | D E M I S E

| D M O C
-------------
T U I S

S T E M
----------
Z Z Z E

Z U M M
--------
I S T

Note that the leftmost letter cant be zero in any word. Also, there must be a one-to-one mapping between digits and letters. e.g. if you substitute 3 for the letter M, no other letter can be 3 and all other M in the puzzle must be 3?

Submitted by: Administrator

C=0, U=1, S=2, T=3, O=4, M=5, I=6, Z=7, E=8, D=9

It is obvious that U=1 (as U*STEM=STEM) and C=0 (as I-C=I).
S*O is a single digit and also S*T is a single digit. Hence, their values (O, S, T) must be 2, 3 or 4 (as they can not be 0 or 1 or greater than 4).

Consider, STEM*O=DMOC, where C=0. It means that M must be 5. Now, its simple. O=4, S=2, T=3, E=8, Z=7, I=6 and D=9.

O U T 4 1 3
------------- -------------
S T E M | D E M I S E 2 3 8 5 | 9 8 5 6 2 8

| D M O C | 9 5 4 0
------------- -------------
T U I S 3 1 6 2

S T E M 2 3 8 5
---------- ----------
Z Z Z E 7 7 7 8

Z U M M 7 1 5 5
-------- --------
I S T 6 2 3

Also, when arranged from 0 to 9, it spells CUSTOMIZED.
Submitted by: Administrator