Hello ss333!
Background
The line on top of ABCD means to read it as a number instead of A*B*C*D.
Equation
line(ABCD) + line(BCD) + line(CD) + line(D) = 2012
(1000A + 100B + 10C + D) + (100B + 10C + D) + (10C + D) + (D) = 2012
1000A + 200B + 30C + 4D = 2012.
Letter A
First, let's try to find A.
A has to be 1 or 2, since if A was 3, then 1000*A = 3000, which is bigger than 2012.
However, if we try setting A as 2, we find out that B would be 0 since 200B + 30C + 4D = 12.
B can't be 0 since B has to be a positive digit, making A 1.
Equation
A = 1
1000(1) + 200B + 30C + 4D = 2012.
200B + 30C + 4D = 1012
100B + 15C + 2D = 506
Letter B
Following the same logic as letter A, B has to be in the range 1-5 since if B was 6, 100*B = 600, which is greater than 506.
However, if B were 5, then C would be 0, and if B were less than or equal to 3, then C would be greater than 10, which isn't a digit number, making B 4.
Equation
B = 4
100(4) + 15C + 2D = 506.
15C + 2D = 106.
Letter C
Following the same letter as A and B, C has to be in the range 1-7 since if C were greater than 7, then 15C > 106.
However, if C were less than 6, then D would be greater than 10 and not a digit.
Similarly, if C were greater than 6, then D would be a decimal number.
Thus C has to be 6.
Equation
15(6) + 2D = 106.
2D = 16
D = 8
Answer
A = 1
B = 4
C = 6
D = 8
1+4+6+8 = 19.
Our final answer is 19.
I hope this helped. :)))))))
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