Explain the solution
1.First, we wrote down a couple of consecutive numbers from 0-9, then we tried putting the digits in the stars in different orders.
2. We kept on trying different consecutive numbers, and then we realised we couldn’t do 1,2,3 because reading the description, the numbers can’t repeat and 3 was already in the equation. That narrowed down our options, though only by 1.
3. After we narrowed down the possibilities, we started to pay more attention to the fact that the third digit was the sum of the consecutive digits.
4. When we paid more attention to the third digit, we could just scan through the numbers that we wrote down and find one that when added together, does not create a number larger than 9.
5. There was a particular consecutive number that we found that added up to 9, that was 4,5,6. 4+5=9 so maybe if we put it in the stars in the order that matches the description, it could work! We already know 9 has to be the third digit because again, 4+5=9.
6. We realised that 5 couldn’t be in the fourth star because 5x3=15 and the 5 would repeat. Since we knew 9 had to go in the third star, we just needed to figure out where 4,5 and 6 would go!
7. On our third try, we tried 5694x3, and none of the numbers repeated! That’s how we figured out the answer.
5694 x 3 17,082