Verbal arithmetic

Verbal arithmetic, also known

as alphametics, cryptarithmetic, cryptarithm or word addition, is a
type of mathematical game consisting of a
mathematical equation among unknown numbers, whose digits are
represented by letters. The goal is to identify the value of each letter.
The name can be extended to puzzles that use non-alphabetic symbols
instead of letters.
The equation is typically a basic operation of arithmetic, such
as addition, multiplication, or division. The classic example, published in
the July 1924 issue of Strand Magazine by Henry Dudeney,[1] is:

The solution to this puzzle is O = 0, M = 1, Y = 2, E = 5, N = 6, D = 7, R

= 8, and S = 9.
Traditionally, each letter should represent a different digit, and (as in
ordinary arithmetic notation) the leading digit of a multi-digit number
must not be zero. A good puzzle should have a unique solution, and the
letters should make up a phrase (as in the example above).
Verbal arithmetic can be useful as a motivation and source of exercises
in the teaching of algebra.

History[edit]
Cryptarithmic puzzles are quite old and their inventor is not known. An
1864 example in The American Agriculturist[2] disproves the popular
notion that it was invented by Sam Loyd. The name "cryptarithm" was
coined by puzzlist Minos (pseudonym of Simon Vatriquant) in the May
1931 issue of Sphinx, a Belgian magazine of recreational mathematics,
and was translated as "cryptarithmetic" by Maurice Kraitchik in 1942.[3] In
1955, J. A. H. Hunter introduced the word "alphametic" to designate
cryptarithms, such as Dudeney's, whose letters form
meaningful words or phrases.[4]

Types of cryptarithms[edit]
Types of cryptarithm include the alphametic, the digimetic, and the
skeletal division.
Alphametic
A type of cryptarithm in which a set of words is written down in the
form of a long addition sum or some other mathematical
 problem.The object is to replace the letters of the alphabet with
decimal digits to make a valid arithmetic sum.
Digimetic
A cryptarithm in which digits are used to represent other digits.
Skeletal division
A long division in which most or all of the digits are replaced by
symbols (usually asterisks) to form a cryptarithm.
Reverse cryptarithm
A rare variation where a formula is written, and the solution is the
corresponding cryptarithm whose solution is the formula given.

Solving cryptarithms[edit]
Solving a cryptarithm by hand usually involves a mix of
deductions and exhaustive tests of possibilities. For
instance the following sequence of deductions solves
Dudeney's SEND+MORE = MONEY puzzle above (columns
are numbered from right to left):

1. From column 5, M = 1 since it is the only carry-over

possible from the sum of two single digit numbers in
column 4.
2. Since there is a carry in column 5, O must be less
than or equal to M (from column 4). But O cannot be
equal to M, so O is less than M. Therefore O = 0.
3. Since O is 1 less than M, S is either 8 or 9 depending
on whether there is a carry in column 4. But if there
were a carry in column 4, N would be less than or
equal to O (from column 3). This is impossible since O
= 0. Therefore there is no carry in column 3 and S =
9.
4. If there were no carry in column 3 then E = N, which is
impossible. Therefore there is a carry and N = E + 1.
5. If there were no carry in column 2, then ( N + R ) mod
10 = E, and N = E + 1, so ( E + 1 + R ) mod 10 = E
which means ( 1 + R ) mod 10 = 0, so R = 9. But S =
9, so there must be a carry in column 2 so R = 8.
6. To produce a carry in column 2, we must have D + E
= 10 + Y.
 7. Y is at least 2 so D + E is at least 12.
8. The only two pairs of available numbers that sum to at
least 12 are (5,7) and (6,7) so either E = 7 or D = 7.
9. Since N = E + 1, E can't be 7 because then N = 8 = R
so D = 7.
10. E can't be 6 because then N = 7 = D so E =
5 and N = 6.
11. D + E = 12 so Y = 2.
The use of modular arithmetic often helps. For example, use
of mod-10 arithmetic allows the columns of an addition
problem to be treated as simultaneous equations, while the
use of mod-2 arithmetic allows inferences based on
the parity of the variables.
In computer science, cryptarithms provide good examples to
illustrate the brute force method, and algorithms that
generate all permutations of m choices from n possibilities.
For example, the Dudeney puzzle above can be solved by
testing all assignments of eight values among the digits 0 to
9 to the eight letters S,E,N,D,M,O,R,Y, giving 1,814,400
possibilities. They also provide good examples
for backtracking paradigm of algorithmdesign.

Other information[edit]
When generalized to arbitrary bases, the problem of
determining if a cryptarithm has a solution is NP-
complete.[5] (The generalization is necessary for the
hardness result because in base 10, there are only 10!
possible assignments of digits to letters, and these can be
checked against the puzzle in linear time.)
Alphametics can be combined with other number puzzles
such as Sudoku and Kakuro to create
cryptic Sudoku and Kakuro.

Longest alphametics[edit]
Anton Pavlis constructed an alphametic in 1983 with 41
addends:
SO+MANY+MORE+MEN+SEEM+TO+SAY+THAT+
THEY+MAY+SOON+TRY+TO+STAY+AT+HOME+
SO+AS+TO+SEE+OR+HEAR+THE+SAME+ONE+
MAN+TRY+TO+MEET+THE+TEAM+ON+THE+
MOON+AS+HE+HAS+AT+THE+OTHER+TEN
=TESTS (The answer is that
[6]
TRANHYSMOE=9876543210.)