What is the greatest 5-digit palindrome for 7n to be a 6-digit palindrome?

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In summary, a palindrome is a word, phrase, or number that reads the same backward as forward. A 5-digit palindrome is a number with exactly 5 digits that is the same when read forward and backward, while a 6-digit palindrome is a number with exactly 6 digits that is the same when read forward and backward. In this context, "7n" refers to any number that is a multiple of 7. To find the greatest 5-digit palindrome for 7n to be a 6-digit palindrome, you would need to find the largest multiple of 7 that results in a 6-digit palindrome when multiplied by 7, which is 142857.
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anemone
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Here is this week's POTW:

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What is the greatest 5-digit palindrome $n$ such that $7n$ is a 6-digit palindrome?

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  • #2
Congratulations to Opalg for his correct and insightful solution, which you can find below:
We are looking for a number $n$ of the (decimal) form $abcba$ such that $7n$ is of the form $xyzzyx$.

Suppose first that $a = 9$. Since $7\times9 = 63$ it follows that the last digit of $7n$ is $3$ and the first digit of $n$ is at least $6$. So $7n$ cannot be a palindrome in this case.

Suppose next that $a=8$ and that $b=9$. Then $n = 89098 + 100c$. Therefore $7n = 623686 + 700c$. The addition of $700c$ can only affect the middle two digits of $7n$, so it cannot increase the $2$ (the second digit of $7n$) to an $8$. So $7n$ cannot be a palindrome.

Now suppose that $a=b=8$, so that $n$ is of the form $88088 + 100c$. Then $7n = 616616 + 700c$. But $616616$ is palindromic, and if $c\ne0$ then the addition of $700c$ will make the middle two digits unequal and destroy the palindrome.

So $n=88088$ is the largest 5-digit palindrome such that $7n$ is also a palindrome.
 

1. What is a palindrome?

A palindrome is a word, phrase, or sequence that reads the same backward as forward, such as "racecar" or "madam".

2. What does "5-digit palindrome" mean?

A 5-digit palindrome is a number that reads the same backward as forward, and has 5 digits, such as 12321 or 94449.

3. What does "7n" mean in this context?

In mathematics, "7n" is a variable that represents any number that is a multiple of 7. For example, 7, 14, 21, and 28 are all multiples of 7.

4. How do you determine if a number is a 6-digit palindrome?

To determine if a number is a 6-digit palindrome, you would read the number from left to right and from right to left, and if the two numbers are the same, then it is a palindrome. For example, 123321 is a 6-digit palindrome because it reads the same backward and forward.

5. What is the greatest 5-digit palindrome for 7n to be a 6-digit palindrome?

The greatest 5-digit palindrome for 7n to be a 6-digit palindrome is 99999. When multiplied by 7, it becomes 699993, which is a 6-digit palindrome.

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