How many times will the digit 7 be written when listing the integers from 1 to 1000?

M7MBA wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 20, 2020 8:44 am

How many times will the digit 7 be written when listing the integers from 1 to 1000?

(A) 110
(B) 111
(C) 271
(D) 300
(E) 304

Answer: D

Source: GMAT Club Tests

Here's one way to look at it.
Write all of the numbers as 3-digit numbers.
That is, 000, 001, 002, 003, .... 998, 999

NOTE: Yes, I have started at 000 and ended at 999, even though though the question asks us to look at the numbers from 1 to 1000. HOWEVER, notice that 000 and 1000 do not have any 7's so the outcome will be the same.

First, there are 1000 integers from 000 to 999
There are 3 digits in each integer.
So, there is a TOTAL of 3000 individual digit. (since 1000 x 3 = 3000)

Each of the 10 digits is equally represented, so the 7 will account for 1/10 of all digits.

1/10 of 3000 = 300

So, there are 300 0's, 300 1's, 300 2's, 300 3's, . . ., and 300 9's in the integers from 000 to 999

Answer: D

Cheers,
Brent

M7MBA wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 20, 2020 8:44 am

How many times will the digit 7 be written when listing the integers from 1 to 1000?

(A) 110
(B) 111
(C) 271
(D) 300
(E) 304

Answer: D

Source: GMAT Club Tests

Solution:

The digit 7 as the hundreds digit appears 100 times (700 to 799). As the tens digit, it appears 100 times also (ten times each in the 70s, 170s, 270s, …, 970s). As the units digit, it appears 100 times also (7, 17, 27, …, 997). Therefore, the digit 7 has appeared a total of 300 times.

Answer: D