nerdle

Nerdle #538 Answer

Tuesday, July 11, 2023

84*8=672
Structure
AB*C=DEF
Type
Mixed-Length Multiplication
Result
672

How the clues would have read

  • Today's equation begins with a two-digit number in the 80s.
  • This puzzle uses multiplication only.
  • The result is a 3-digit even number.

The numbers behind it

  • Divisibility: 84 is divisible by 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 12, 14, 21, 28, and 42, 8 is divisible by 2 and 4, and 672 is divisible by 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 12, 14, 16, 21, 24, 28, 32, 42, 48, 56, 84, 96, 112, 168, 224, and 336
  • Digital roots: 84 → 8+4 = 12 → 3, 8 → 8, 672 → 6+7+2 = 15 → 6
  • Prime factorization: 84 = 2²×3×7, 8 = 2³, 672 = 2⁵×3×7

Why the structure matters

This puzzle's shape is AB*C=DEF — a mixed-length multiplication, where each letter stands for one digit. Recognising the shape before the arithmetic is what separates a three-guess solve from a six-guess struggle: once you know the equation is a mixed-length multiplication, most of the search space is gone before you have spent a single guess.

The result, 672, factors as 2⁵×3×7 — those factors are exactly the operations that could have produced it.

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