Problem:
Compute the 100th smallest positive multiple of whose digits in base are all strictly less than .
Solution
Solution:
We construct an order-preserving bijection between positive multiples of in base whose digits are all less than and positive multiples of . For any multiple of in base with digits all less than , interpret it as a base number and convert it to a base decimal, which will be a multiple of . For example, would map to .
We first show that this is a valid mapping. Let be an arbitrary multiple of (in base ) whose digits are all less than . This has a natural interpretation in base , and converting this interpretation to base gives
which is a multiple of .
This mapping is an injection because base conversion is an injection, and this mapping is also a surjection because for any multiple of in base , we can convert it to base and interpret this number as a base decimal. (Reversing the above steps, we see the resulting decimal number is a multiple of .) Furthermore, for two positive multiples of whose digits are less than , the larger one will have a larger base representation, so this mapping is order-preserving.
Thus, this mapping is an order-preserving bijection between multiples of in base with digits less than and multiples of in base . Therefore, the answer is the preimage of the 100th smallest positive multiple of , which is equal to .