Question: Substitute digits for the letters to make the following subtraction problem true.
S A N T A
- C L A U S
-----------------
X M A S
Note that the leftmost letter can't 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.
Answer:
One of the simplest brain teaser as there are total 26 possible answers.
It is obvious that S=C+1. Since A-S=S, it is clear that A=2*S or 2*s-10. Also, L and X are
interchangeable.
SANTA - CLAUS = XMAS
24034 - 16492 = 7542
24034 - 17492 = 6542
24074 - 15432 = 8642
24074 - 18432 = 5642
24534 - 16492 = 8042
24534 - 18492 = 6042
24794 - 16452 = 8342
24794 - 18452 = 6342
24804 - 15462 = 9342
24804 - 19462 = 5342
24974 - 16432 = 8542
24974 - 18432 = 6542
36806 - 27643 = 9163
36806 - 29643 = 7163
36156 - 27693 = 8463
36156 - 28693 = 7463
62132 - 54206 = 7926
62132 - 57206 = 4926
62172 - 53246 = 8926
62172 - 58246 = 3926
62402 - 53276 = 9126
62402 - 59276 = 3126
62712 - 53286 = 9426
62712 - 59286 = 3426
62932 - 58206 = 4726
62932 - 54206 = 8726