Understanding Letter Coding Patterns

This question involves letter coding, where a specific rule or pattern is applied to transform one word into another. We are given that the word "FRUIT" is coded as "WKHTI". Our task is to identify this pattern and then apply it to the word "MUSKMELON" to find its coded form.

Analyzing the Coding Pattern: FRUIT to WKHTI

Let's look at the positions of the letters in the English alphabet (A=1, B=2, ..., Z=26) and see how each letter in FRUIT corresponds to the coded letter in WKHTI.

• F is the 6th letter. W is the 23rd letter.
• R is the 18th letter. K is the 11th letter.
• U is the 21st letter. H is the 8th letter.
• I is the 9th letter. T is the 20th letter.
• T is the 20th letter. I is the 9th letter.

Let's try adding the positions of the original letter and the coded letter:

• F (6) + W (23) = 29
• R (18) + K (11) = 29
• U (21) + H (8) = 29
• I (9) + T (20) = 29
• T (20) + I (9) = 29

We can see a consistent pattern: the sum of the alphabetical positions of the original letter and its coded letter is always 29. This means the coded letter for any given letter is the letter whose position is $29$ minus the original letter's position.

Let's represent this pattern in a table for clarity:

Applying the Coding Pattern to MUSKMELON

Now we will apply the same pattern (coded letter position = 29 - original letter position) to each letter in the word MUSKMELON.

• M: Position is 13. Coded position = $29 - 13 = 16$. The 16th letter is P.
• U: Position is 21. Coded position = $29 - 21 = 8$. The 8th letter is H.
• S: Position is 19. Coded position = $29 - 19 = 10$. The 10th letter is J.
• K: Position is 11. Coded position = $29 - 11 = 18$. The 18th letter is R.
• M: Position is 13. Coded position = $29 - 13 = 16$. The 16th letter is P.
• E: Position is 5. Coded position = $29 - 5 = 24$. The 24th letter is X.
• L: Position is 12. Coded position = $29 - 12 = 17$. The 17th letter is Q.
• O: Position is 15. Coded position = $29 - 15 = 14$. The 14th letter is N.
• N: Position is 14. Coded position = $29 - 14 = 15$. The 15th letter is O.

Combining the coded letters in order, we get PHJRPXQNO.

Let's summarize the coding for MUSKMELON in a table:

The coded word for MUSKMELON is PHJRPXQNO.

Comparing with the Options

Let's check which option matches our result:

• A. PHJRPXQNO
• B. PJHRXMNQO
• C. HPJRYNMQO
• D. PHRJMQXON

Our calculated code PHJRPXQNO matches option A.

Revision Table: Letter Coding Pattern

Additional Information: Types of Letter Coding

Letter coding problems often use various patterns. Some common types include:

• Shift Cipher: Each letter is shifted by a fixed number of positions in the alphabet (e.g., A becomes C, B becomes D - a shift of +2).
• Reverse Alphabetical Order: Letters are coded based on their position from the end of the alphabet (e.g., A becomes Z, B becomes Y). This is equivalent to position $27 - original\ position$.
• Direct Letter Swapping: Letters are swapped based on their position in the word or based on a specific mapping provided or deduced.
• Opposite Letters: Coding based on pairs of letters that are equidistant from the start and end of the alphabet (A-Z, B-Y, C-X, etc.). The sum of positions is 27. Our pattern sums to 29, which is different but follows a similar concept of using numerical positions.
• Mixed Patterns: Sometimes a combination of different rules is used within the same code.

Solving letter coding questions requires careful observation, analyzing the relationship between the original and coded letters, and testing potential patterns using alphabetical positions or other properties.