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Largest minus smallest number with digit product 96

Question

Let AA be the set of positive integers whose decimal digits have product 9696, where no digit may equal 11 (so AA is finite). If x=min⁡Ax=\min A and y=max⁡Ay=\max A, find y−xy-x.

Short answer

321954. Since 96=25⋅396=2^5\cdot3, the longest such number uses digits 3,2,2,2,2,23,2,2,2,2,2, so y=322222y=322222. The fewest digits possible is three (no two digits multiply to 9696), and the three-digit options are {2,6,8},{3,4,8},{4,4,6}\{2,6,8\},\{3,4,8\},\{4,4,6\}; the smallest is x=268x=268. So y−x=321954y-x=321954.

Adapted from QuantQuestions.io; question and answer rewritten by SelfMadeQuant.com.

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