gives us a 3-digit number for the next step. 99 × (A − C) can also be written as 99 × [(A − C) − 1] + 99 = 100 × [(A − C) − 1] − 1 × [(A − C) − 1] + 90 + 9 = 100 × [(A − C) − 1] + 90 + 9 − (A − C) + 1 = 100 × [(A − C) − 1] + 10 × 9 + 1 × [10 − (A − C)]. (The first digit is (A − C) − 1, the second is 9 and the third is 10 − (A − C). As 2 ≤ A − C ≤ 9, both the first and third digits are guaranteed to be single digits.) Its reversal is 100 × [10 − (A − C)] + 10 × 9 + 1 × [(A − C) − 1]. The sum is thus 101 × [(A − C) − 1] + 20 × 9 + 101 × [10 − (A − C)] = 101 × [(A − C) − 1 + 10 − (A − C)] + 20 × 9 = 101 × [−1 + 10] + 180 = 1089. Other properties Multiplying the number 1089 by the integers from 1 to 9 produces a pattern: multipliers adding up to 10 give products that are the digit reversals of each other: 1 × 1089 = 1089 ↔ 9 × 1089 = 9801 2 × 1089 = 2178 ↔ 8 × 1089 = 8712 3 × 1089 = 3267 ↔ 7 × 1089 = 7623 4 × 1089 = 4356 ↔ 6 × 1089 = 6534 5 × 1089 = 5445 ↔ 5 × 1089 = 5445 Also note the patterns within each column: 1 × 1089 = 1089 2 × 1089 = 2178 3 × 1089 = 3267 4 × 1089 = 4356 5 × 1089 = 5445 6 × 1089 = 6534 7 × 1089 = 7623 8 × 1089 = 8712 9 × 1089 = 9801 Numbers formed analogously in other bases, e.g. octal 1067 or hexadecimal 10EF, also have these properties. Extragalactic astronomy The numerical value of the cosmic microwave background radiation redshift is about ( corresponds to present time) Other uses In the Rich Text Format, the language code 1089 indicates the text is in Swahili. References Integers