Arrange the digits 5,6,7,8 and 9 in the boxes to make the greatest product
can't see the boxes. are there addition or multiplication problems? what does it look like?
To find the greatest product, we need to arrange the digits 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 in the boxes in a way that maximizes the multiplication.
Let's start by considering the position of the thousands digit, which has the greatest effect on the overall value. Since we want to maximize the product, we should place the largest digit, which is 9, as the thousands digit.
Next, let's move to the hundreds digit. Since we have already used 9 as the thousands digit, the largest remaining digit is 8. So, we can place 8 as the hundreds digit.
Now, we have three remaining digits: 5, 6, and 7. Let's consider the tens digit next. The goal here is to maximize the product further. Since we have 5, 6, and 7 remaining, the best strategy is to put the largest digit as the tens digit to maximize the value. Therefore, we place 7 as the tens digit.
Now, we have two remaining digits: 5 and 6. We put the larger of the two digits as the units digit to get the greatest product. Therefore, we place 6 as the units digit.
Putting it all together, the arrangement that yields the greatest product is 9, 8, 7, 6, and 5:
9 x 1000 + 8 x 100 + 7 x 10 + 6 x 1 = 9876.
So, 9,876 is the greatest possible product that can be obtained by arranging the digits 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.