freeCodeCamp/curriculum/challenges/english/10-coding-interview-prep/rosetta-code/babbage-problem.md

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---
title: Babbage problem
id: 594db4d0dedb4c06a2a4cefd
challengeType: 5
forumTopicId: 302229
---
## Description
<section id='description'>
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Babbage" title="wp: Charles_Babbage" target='_blank'>Charles Babbage</a>, looking ahead to the sorts of problems his Analytical Engine would be able to solve, gave this example:
<blockquote>
What is the smallest positive integer whose square ends in the digits 269,696?
<footer style="margin-left: 2em;">Babbage, letter to Lord Bowden, 1837; see Hollingdale and Tootill, <i>Electronic Computers</i>, second edition, 1970, p. 125.</footer>
</blockquote>
He thought the answer might be 99,736, whose square is 9,947,269,696; but he couldn't be certain.
The task is to find out if Babbage had the right answer.
</section>
## Instructions
<section id='instructions'>
Implement a function to return the lowest integer that satisfies the Babbage problem. If Babbage was right, return Babbage's number.
</section>
## Tests
<section id='tests'>
```yml
tests:
- text: <code>babbage</code> should be a function.
testString: assert(typeof babbage === 'function');
- text: <code>babbage(99736, 269696)</code> should not return 99736 (there is a smaller answer).
testString: assert.equal(babbage(babbageAns, endDigits), answer);
```
</section>
## Challenge Seed
<section id='challengeSeed'>
<div id='js-seed'>
```js
function babbage(babbageNum, endDigits) {
return true;
}
```
</div>
### After Test
<div id='js-teardown'>
```js
const babbageAns = 99736;
const endDigits = 269696;
const answer = 25264;
```
</div>
</section>
## Solution
<section id='solution'>
```js
function babbage(babbageAns, endDigits) {
const babbageNum = Math.pow(babbageAns, 2);
const babbageStartDigits = parseInt(babbageNum.toString().replace('269696', ''));
let answer = 99736;
// count down from this answer and save any sqrt int result. return lowest one
for (let i = babbageStartDigits; i >= 0; i--) {
const num = parseInt(i.toString().concat('269696'));
const result = Math.sqrt(num);
if (result === Math.floor(Math.sqrt(num))) {
answer = result;
}
}
return answer;
}
```
</section>