If is a positive integer between 1000000 and 10000000, inclusive, what is the maximum possible value for the sum of the digits of ?
Solution
Since is between 1000000 and 10000000, inclusive, then is between 25000000 and 250000000, inclusive, and so has 8 digits or it has 9 digits. We consider the value of as having 9 digits, with the possibility that the first digit could be 0. Since is a multiple of 25, its final two digits must be , or 75. For a fixed set of leftmost three digits, , the multiple of 25 that has the largest sum of digits must be since the next four digits are as large as possible (all 9s) and the rightmost two digits have the largest possible sum among the possible endings for multiples of 25. So to answer the question, we need to find the integer of the form which is between 25000000 and 250000000 and has the maximum possible sum . We know that the maximum possible value of is 2, the maximum possible value of is 9, and the maximum possible value of is 9. This means that . We cannot have 299999975 since it is not in the given range. However, we could have if and and . Therefore, the integer 199999975 is the multiple of 25 in the given range whose sum of digits is as large as possible. This sum is . We note that so it is a multiple of 25. Note that is between 1000000 and 10000000.