MATH STINGER #2 
by Dr. Joel C. Fowler 
Assistant Professor of Mathematics 

Often a problem can appear difficult until it is looked at in just the right way. The puzzle for
 this issue is just such a problem. The answer is "obvious" after you find it. 

Find two numbers containing no zeros that have a product of 1,000,000,000. 
After solving this problem you may wish to tackle the following variation. 
Explain why it is not possible to find two numbers containing no zeros that have a product of 1,000,000,000,000. 

The above two problems indicate that powers of ten can be classified according to whether or not they can be 
factored into the product of two numbers that contain no zeros. As a final puzzle, find as many powers of ten 
as you can that can be factored into two numbers that contain no zeros.

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