Percent of perfect squares that have an odd digit for their hundreds place

In summary, the conversation discussed the set of all perfect squares and the percentage of them that have an odd digit in their hundreds place and tens place. It was determined that 41% of perfect squares have an odd digit in their hundreds place, while 20% have an odd digit in their tens place. The reasoning for this was based on the fact that the tens digit in a perfect square is dependent on the tens digit in the square of the individual digits from 0 to 9, which are equally likely to be even or odd.
  • #1
checkitagain
138
1
Suppose you consider the set of all perfect squares (the squares of all of the integers).What percent of them have an odd digit for their hundreds place?
 
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  • #2
checkittwice said:
suppose you consider the set of all perfect squares (the squares of all of the integers).What percent of them have an odd digit for their hundreds place?

41%

cb
 
  • #3
CaptainBlack said:
41%

cb

Edit: Some of my text was removed because I don't agree with it.I really meant to ask (hopefully an easier question with less work):"What percent of the perfect squares have an odd digit in their tens place?"Edit:

I sent a PM to CB, because I did not want to have any post in
front of Opalg's solution to my amended question.
 
Last edited:
  • #4
checkittwice said:
I would chop off that 1% and make it 40%.

However, I don't have the work for you at this
time to back it up.

When I get the chance I will check my reasoning and the counting program.

CB
 
  • #5
checkittwice said:
I really meant to ask (hopefully an easier question with less work):"What percent of the perfect squares have an odd digit in their tens place?"
If you square the number $a+10b+100c+\ldots$ (where $a,\,b,\,c\ldots$ are digits from 0 to 9) then you get

$a^2 + 20ab + \ldots$ (everything else is a multiple of 100).

If you are only interested in whether the tens digit is even or odd, then a multiple of 20 makes no difference. So everything depends on whether the tens digit in $a^2$ is even or odd. The squares of the digits from 0 to 9 are

00, 01, 04, 09, 25, 49, 64, 81 (tens digit even)

and

16, 36 (tens digit odd).

Each of these is equally likely to occur, so I reckon that the proportion of perfect squares with an odd digit in their tens place is 20%.
 
  • #6
Opalg said:
If you square the number $a+10b+100c+\ldots$ (where $a,\,b,\,c\ldots$ are digits from 0 to 9) then you get

$a^2 + 20ab + \ldots$ (everything else is a multiple of 100).

If you are only interested in whether the tens digit is even or odd, then a multiple of 20 makes no difference. So everything depends on whether the tens digit in $a^2$ is even or odd. The squares of the digits from 0 to 9 are

00, 01, 04, 09, 25, 49, 64, 81 (tens digit even)

and

16, 36 (tens digit odd).

Each of these is equally likely to occur, so I reckon that the proportion of perfect squares with an odd digit in their tens place is 20%.

That is what I get.

CB
 
  • #7
CaptainBlack said:
That is what I get.
... and I agree with your 41% for those with an odd digit in the hundreds place. I simply counted the number of odd hundreds-place digits in the list of the first 100 squares (as listed http://www.maths.com/numbers.square.htm, for example). The proportion in any other sequence of 100 consecutive squares will be the same.
 

FAQ: Percent of perfect squares that have an odd digit for their hundreds place

What does the term "perfect square" mean?

A perfect square is a number that can be expressed as the product of two equal integers. For example, 9 is a perfect square because it can be written as 3 x 3.

How do you determine the number of perfect squares with an odd digit for their hundreds place?

To determine the number of perfect squares with an odd digit for their hundreds place, we can use the formula (10^n - 10^(n-1))/2, where n is the number of digits. For example, for a 3-digit number, we would use (10^3 - 10^2)/2 = 45. So there are 45 perfect squares with an odd digit for their hundreds place.

What is the significance of the hundreds place in determining the odd digit in a perfect square?

The hundreds place represents the third digit from the right in a number. In perfect squares, the number in the hundreds place determines whether the number is odd or even. If the number in the hundreds place is odd, then the perfect square will have an odd digit for its hundreds place.

How does this concept relate to real-life applications?

This concept is often used in probability and statistics to calculate the likelihood of an event occurring. For example, if we are rolling a 3-digit number cube, we can use this concept to determine the probability of rolling a perfect square with an odd digit in its hundreds place.

Can this concept be applied to numbers with more than 3 digits?

Yes, this concept can be applied to numbers with any number of digits. The formula (10^n - 10^(n-1))/2 can be used, where n is the number of digits, to determine the number of perfect squares with an odd digit for their hundreds place.

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