If OKLAHOMA is coded as PLMBJQOC, what will be BLANCHAR coded as?

2024

If OKLAHOMA is coded as PLMBJQOC, what will be BLANCHAR coded as?

  1. A.

    GFHFJDHY

  2. B.

    FHFULMSE

  3. C.

    CMBOEJCT

  4. D.

    CMBODIBS

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: C

Concept: In letter-shift coding-decoding, every letter of a word is replaced by a letter a fixed number of positions ahead in the alphabet. Different segments of the same word can carry different shift amounts, and comparing a word with its given code, letter by letter, reveals exactly what those shifts are.

Application:

  1. Compare OKLAHOMA with its code PLMBJQOC by alphabet position, letter by letter.

  2. The first four letters, O, K, L, A, each shift forward by 1 position to become P, L, M, B.

  3. The last four letters, H, O, M, A, each shift forward by 2 positions to become J, Q, O, C.

  4. Apply the same rule to BLANCHAR: split it into its first four letters, B, L, A, N, and its last four letters, C, H, A, R.

  5. Shift B, L, A, N forward by 1 position each to get C, M, B, O.

  6. Shift C, H, A, R forward by 2 positions each to get E, J, C, T.

  7. Combining both halves gives the coded word CMBOEJCT.

Cross-check: Reversing the process on CMBOEJCT — shifting its first four letters back by 1 position and its last four letters back by 2 positions — returns exactly B, L, A, N, C, H, A, R, confirming the shift rule holds consistently in both directions.

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