2006 AIME I Problem 3

Attempt Problem 3 of the 2006 AIME I below, then check your answer against the professionally curated solution from LIVE by Po-Shen Loh. You can also try the full timed exam, view all 2006 AIME I solutions, or check the answer key.

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3.

Find the least positive integer such that when its leftmost digit is deleted, the resulting integer is 129\frac{1}{29} of the original integer.

Answer: 725
Concepts:digitsplace valuedivisibility
Difficulty rating: 2020
Solution:

Let dd be the leftmost digit and nn the integer that remains after deleting it, so the original integer is d10p+nd \cdot 10^p + n for some positive integer p.p. The condition says d10p+n=29n,d \cdot 10^p + n = 29n, so d10p=28n.d \cdot 10^p = 28n.

Since 728n7 \mid 28n but 710p,7 \nmid 10^p, the digit dd must be a multiple of 7,7, so d=7.d = 7. Then 10p=4n,10^p = 4n, giving n=2510p2,n = 25 \cdot 10^{p-2}, which requires p2.p \ge 2. The smallest case is p=2,p = 2, n=25.n = 25.

The least such integer is 725,725, and indeed 725=2925.725 = 29 \cdot 25.

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