Skip to main content

2014 AMC 10A Problem 20

Problem 20 of 25HarderNumber Theory

The product (8)(8888),(8)(888\dots8), where the second factor has kk digits, is an integer whose digits have a sum of 1000.1000. What is k?k?

Answer choices

Show solution

Solution

The kk-digit number made entirely of 88s is 810k198\frac{10^k-1}{9}, so the product is 6410k19=710k+10010k219+4. \begin{aligned} 64\frac{10^k-1}{9} &=7\cdot10^k\\ &\quad+100\frac{10^{k-2}-1}{9}\\ &\quad+4. \end{aligned} For k2k\ge2, this is the number whose digits are 77, followed by k2k-2 ones, then 0,40,4. This means that for any k3,k \geq 3, the sum of the digits in the product is 7+4+0+k2=k+9. 7 + 4 + 0 + k - 2 = k + 9. Finally, we get k+9=1000 k + 9 = 1000 k=991. k = 991. Thus, D is the correct answer.

More practice

Concepts: digits · pattern recognition · induction

Problem text and solution from the LIVE past-contest archive. See also the AoPS wiki page for community solutions.