Understanding Letter Coding Patterns

This question involves a common type of reasoning problem called letter coding. In these problems, letters are substituted with other letters based on a specific rule or pattern. We are given two examples of coded words and need to find the code for a third word using the same pattern.

Analyzing the Given Coding Examples

Let's look at the first example:

• COME is coded as XLNV

Let's examine the position of each letter in the standard English alphabet (A=1, B=2, ..., Z=26):

• C is the 3rd letter. X is the 24th letter. \(3 + 24 = 27\).
• O is the 15th letter. L is the 12th letter. \(15 + 12 = 27\).
• M is the 13th letter. N is the 14th letter. \(13 + 14 = 27\).
• E is the 5th letter. V is the 22nd letter. \(5 + 22 = 27\).

The pattern seems to be that each letter is replaced by the letter such that the sum of their alphabetical positions is 27. This is equivalent to replacing each letter with its 'opposite' letter in the alphabet.

Let's verify this pattern with the second example:

• ABLE is coded as ZYOV

Checking the letter positions:

• A is the 1st letter. Z is the 26th letter. \(1 + 26 = 27\).
• B is the 2nd letter. Y is the 25th letter. \(2 + 25 = 27\).
• L is the 12th letter. O is the 15th letter. \(12 + 15 = 27\).
• E is the 5th letter. V is the 22nd letter. \(5 + 22 = 27\).

The pattern holds true for the second example as well. The pattern is consistently replacing each letter with its opposite letter based on alphabetical position.

Coding the Word MOLLY

Now, we apply the same pattern to the word MOLLY:

• For the letter M (13th position): The letter with position \(27 - 13 = 14\) is N.
• For the letter O (15th position): The letter with position \(27 - 15 = 12\) is L.
• For the letter L (12th position): The letter with position \(27 - 12 = 15\) is O.
• For the letter L (12th position): The letter with position \(27 - 12 = 15\) is O.
• For the letter Y (25th position): The letter with position \(27 - 25 = 2\) is B.

Combining the coded letters, the word MOLLY is coded as NLOOB.

Let's check this result against the given options.

The coded word for MOLLY is NLOOB.