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minimum possible value

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by j_shreyans » Tue May 05, 2015 9:19 am
Each of the positive integers a, b, and c is a three-digit integer. If each of the digits 1 through 9 appears in one of these three integers, what is the minimum possible value of the sum of a, b, and c?

A)45
B)666
C)774
D)801
E)1368

OAC
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Source: — Problem Solving |

by talaangoshtari » Tue May 05, 2015 9:29 am
a=147
b=258
c=369
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by coolhabhi » Wed May 06, 2015 5:32 am
[quote="j_shreyans"]Each of the positive integers a, b, and c is a three-digit integer. If each of the digits 1 through 9 appears in one of these three integers, what is the minimum possible value of the sum of a, b, and c?

A)45
B)666
C)774
D)801
E)1368

OA[spoiler]C[/spoiler][/quote]

The key point is that the sum of the 3 integers must be as minimum as possible.
Let a = rst
Let b = uvw
Let c = xyz

So the Hundred's digit (i.e., digit 'r' in the number rst) should be as small as possible.
For this let the r = 1, u = 2, x = 3

Next the Tens's digit (i.e., digit 's' in the number rst) should be as small as possible.
For this let the s = 4, v = 5, y = 6

Next the Unit's digit (i.e., digit 't' in the number rst) should be as small as possible.
For this let the t = 7, w = 8, z = 9

So we have the three numbers as a = 147, b = 258, c = 369
The sum would then come out to be [spoiler]774[/spoiler] which is the least possible
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by regor60 » Wed May 06, 2015 5:54 am
There are 6^3 ways of arranging the numerals to achieve 774
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