Question

Difficulty: HardUnit Digit and Cyclicity

Determine the unit digit of the numerical expression N=(333444×444333)+(777888×888777)222555N = (333^{444} \times 444^{333}) + (777^{888} \times 888^{777}) - 222^{555}.

Answer: 4

Answer

The unit digit of the given expression is 4.
By analyzing cyclicity of each base (3,4,7,8,23, 4, 7, 8, 2), we find that 3334441333^{444} \rightarrow 1, 4443334444^{333} \rightarrow 4, 7778881777^{888} \rightarrow 1, 8887778888^{777} \rightarrow 8, and 2225558222^{555} \rightarrow 8. Thus, the overall unit digit is (1×4)+(1×8)8=4+88=4(1 \times 4) + (1 \times 8) - 8 = 4 + 8 - 8 = 4.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Calculate unit digit of 333444×444333333^{444} \times 444^{333}
Unit digit is 4
Base 3 has cyclicity 4; 444(mod4)=0    341444 \pmod 4 = 0 \implies 3^4 \rightarrow 1. Base 4 has cyclicity 2; odd exponent 333    414333 \implies 4^1 \rightarrow 4. Total unit digit for term 1 = 1×4=41 \times 4 = 4.
2
Calculate unit digit of 777888×888777777^{888} \times 888^{777}
Unit digit is 8
Base 7 has cyclicity 4; 888(mod4)=0    741888 \pmod 4 = 0 \implies 7^4 \rightarrow 1. Base 8 has cyclicity 4; 777(mod4)=1    818777 \pmod 4 = 1 \implies 8^1 \rightarrow 8. Total unit digit for term 2 = 1×8=81 \times 8 = 8.
3
Calculate unit digit of 222555222^{555}
Unit digit is 8
Base 2 has cyclicity 4; 555(mod4)=3    238555 \pmod 4 = 3 \implies 2^3 \rightarrow 8.
4
Evaluate combined expression unit digit
4
Combine term unit digits: (4+88)=4(4 + 8 - 8) = 4.

Key Concept

Unit Digit and Cyclicity of Numbers
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