IMO 1968 · Problem 2

Find all natural numbers \(x\) such that the product of their digits (in decimal notation) is equal to \(x^2-10x-22\).

Official text of the problem. Official problem paper (PDF)

Answer

\[ \boxed{x=12}. \]

Solution

Let \(P(x)\) denote the product of the decimal digits of \(x\). If \(0\) is included among the natural numbers, it is not a solution, since \(P(0)=0\ne-22\). Thus assume \(x>0\).

We first observe that \(P(x)\le x\). Indeed, if \(x\) has \(n\) digits and leading digit \(a\), then \[ P(x)\le a\,9^{n-1}\le a\,10^{n-1}\le x. \] Consequently, any solution satisfies \[ 0\le x^2-10x-22\le x. \]

If \(x\le11\), then \[ x^2-10x-22=(x-11)(x+1)-11\le-11<0, \] contradicting the first inequality. Hence \(x\ge12\).

If \(x\ge13\), then \[ (x^2-10x-22)-x=x(x-11)-22 \ge13\cdot2-22=4>0, \] contradicting the second inequality. Hence \(x\le12\).

Therefore \(x=12\) is the only possible solution. It indeed satisfies the equation, because \[ P(12)=1\cdot2=2=12^2-10\cdot12-22. \]

The solution was checked against John Scholes' IMO solution archive (Kalva).