Problem:
Ethan initially writes some numbers on a blackboard, each of which is either a or a . He then repeatedly picks two numbers and replaces them with their sum, difference, product, or quotient (if the divisor is nonzero). Let denote the minimum number of numbers Ethan must initially write for him to be able to eventually write the number . For example, because Ethan could start with , , , , , and on the board, then repeatedly multiply two numbers at a time to eventually get .
Submit a comma-separated ordered 8-tuple of integers corresponding to the values of , , , , , , , and , in that order, or an X for any value you wish to leave blank. For instance, if you think and , you should submit "9, X, X, 8, X, X, X, X". You will earn points, where is the number of correct answers you submit and is the number of incorrect (non-blank) answers.