How many three-digit numbers are composed of three distinct digits such that one digit is the average of the other two?
Pick one
Solution
We can find the number of increasing arithmetic sequences of length 3 possible from 0 to 9, and then find all the possible permutations of these sequences.
Common difference
Sequences possible
Number of sequences
1
8
2
6
3
4
4
2
This gives us a total of sequences. There are to permute these, for a total of .
However, we note that the conditions of the problem require three-digit numbers, and hence our numbers cannot start with zero. There are numbers which start with zero, so our answer is .
Want a route through all this instead of an archive? The track
puts 2,000 problems in a working order, from AMC 10 level to the IMO shortlist.