What are cryptarithms?

Cryptarithms
Cryptarithms or crypt-arithmetic problems are encrypted math
problems, where numbers in a given mathematical expression
are represented by letters or other symbols. There are two main
types of cryptarythms: Hindu problems and Alphametics. In
Hindu problems, every digit in a mathematical expression is
concealed with the samesymbol, usually an asterisk.
Surprisingly, despite the fact that once the original digits have
been replaced by asterisks and they are indistinguishable, these
problems can be solved. Alphametics are puzzles where each
digit is replaced by a different symbol, usually a letter. Many
alphametics “spell out” words, making them more attractive and
entertaining. One of the most famous was invented by Henry
Ernest Dudeney, a British puzzlist, in 1924: SEND + MORE =
MONEY.

By substituting S=9, E=5, N=6, D=7, M=1, O=0, R=8, Y=2 the
cryptarithm translates into: 9567+1085=10652. In the second half of
the week, we’ll learn how this and other cryptarithms are solved.

A bit of history
Cryptarithms first appeared in the United States in 1864, but it is
believed that they were invented much earlier, in Ancient China.
These original cryptarithms were mainly of the “Hindu” type. In the
early twentieth century, Simon Vatriquant, a Belgian mathematician
pseudo-named ‘minos’, and mistakingly called Maurice Vatriquant,
took them much more seriously. He published many cryptarithms in a
mathematical journal called “Sphinx”, published during the first half of
the twentieth century. Maurice Kraitchick, another well-known
mathematician, was the editor of this journal. The journal was
dedicated to math puzzles, a branch of mathematics that is known
today as recreational mathematics. Jorge Soares, among others, has
a great cryptarithm site dedicated to the Sphinx.

Verbal arithmetic
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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.

Contents

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 algorithm design.

Longest alphametics
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