How to learn a language – 8 top tips and advice
If you want to learn a language but aren’t sure where to start, we’ve got …
Home / Science, Engineering & Maths / Maths / Maths Puzzles: Cryptarithms, Symbologies and Secret Codes / Ancient Hindu Problems
Ancient Hindu Problems
Dr Yossi Elran explains what Ancient Hindu problems are and how to solve them
© Davidson Institute of Science Education, the educational arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science
Hindu problems originated in India in the middle ages and are sometimes referred to as arithmetical restorations or skeleton problems. In these problems, digits are replaced by asterisks, for example: * + * = 2. Each asterisk represented one missing digit (from 0 and 9). Two or more asterisks in the same problem may represent different digits.For example, for the problem * + * = 2 there are two possible solutions:
- 1 + 1 = 2 – in this solution each asterisk represents the digit 1
- 2 + 0 = 2 – in this solution one asterisk represents the digit 0 and the other asterisk represents the digit 2
- Some puzzles might have several solutions and some might have no solution
- Two adjacent asterisks represent a 2-digit number, like 74. Three adjacent asterisks represent a 3-digit number, and so on. In these cases the leftmost asterisk cannot represent the number 0, i.e. it is illegal to write to represent the number 8 as 08.
© Davidson Institute of Science Education, the educational arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science
This article is from the online course:
Maths Puzzles: Cryptarithms, Symbologies and Secret Codes
Created by
Explore: careers in psychology
Here we provide you with all the information you need to start your career in …
Why is the PRINCE2® Foundation certification a game-changer for my project management career?
Find out how the PRINCE2® Foundation certification can help you to upskill, enhance your project …
How to write a novel
If you’ve always fancied the idea of writing a story, we’ve got just the thing. …
This article is from the free online
Maths Puzzles: Cryptarithms, Symbologies and Secret Codes
Our purpose is to transform access to education.
We offer a diverse selection of courses from leading universities and cultural institutions from around the world. These are delivered one step at a time, and are accessible on mobile, tablet and desktop, so you can fit learning around your life.
We believe learning should be an enjoyable, social experience, so our courses offer the opportunity to discuss what you’re learning with others as you go, helping you make fresh discoveries and form new ideas.
You can unlock new opportunities with unlimited access to hundreds of online short courses for a year by subscribing to our Unlimited package. Build your knowledge with top universities and organisations.
Learn more about how FutureLearn is transforming access to education
