In a certain code language, 'HAPPY’ is written as 'JBRQA' and 'MACRO' is written as 'OBESQ'. How will 'MATES' be written in that language?

Question

In a certain code language, 'HAPPY&rsquo; is written as 'JBRQA' and 'MACRO' is written as 'OBESQ'. How will 'MATES' be written in that language?

Prepp Team · Accepted Answer

Solving Coding Language Puzzles

This question asks us to decode a word based on a pattern observed in given examples of coded words. We are given that 'HAPPY' is coded as 'JBRQA' and 'MACRO' is coded as 'OBESQ'. We need to find the code for 'MATES' using the same rule.

Understanding the Coding Rule

To find the coding rule, let's look at the letter-by-letter transformation for the given examples. We can use the position of each letter in the English alphabet (A=1, B=2, ..., Z=26).

Let's analyze the first example: 'HAPPY' to 'JBRQA'.

Original Letter	Position	Coded Letter	Position	Shift
H	8	J	10	$10 - 8 = +2$
A	1	B	2	$2 - 1 = +1$
P	16	R	18	$18 - 16 = +2$
P	16	Q	17	$17 - 16 = +1$
Y	25	A	1	$1 - 25 = -24$. Wrapping around: Y $\to$ Z $\to$ A is $+2$.

The pattern of shifts appears to be $+2, +1, +2, +1, +2$. Let's check if this pattern holds for the second example: 'MACRO' to 'OBESQ'.

Original Letter	Position	Coded Letter	Position	Shift
M	13	O	15	$15 - 13 = +2$
A	1	B	2	$2 - 1 = +1$
C	3	E	5	$5 - 3 = +2$
R	18	S	19	$19 - 18 = +1$
O	15	Q	17	$17 - 15 = +2$

Yes, the pattern $+2, +1, +2, +1, +2$ is consistent for both examples. This is the coding rule we will use to encode 'MATES'.

Applying the Rule to MATES

Now, let's apply the discovered rule (+2, +1, +2, +1, +2) to each letter of the word 'MATES'.

Original Letter	Position	Shift Rule	Calculation	New Position	Coded Letter
M	13	$+2$	$13 + 2 = 15$	15	O
A	1	$+1$	$1 + 1 = 2$	2	B
T	20	$+2$	$20 + 2 = 22$	22	V
E	5	$+1$	$5 + 1 = 6$	6	F
S	19	$+2$	$19 + 2 = 21$	21	U

Following the rule, 'M' shifts by +2 to 'O', 'A' shifts by +1 to 'B', 'T' shifts by +2 to 'V', 'E' shifts by +1 to 'F', and 'S' shifts by +2 to 'U'.

Therefore, the word 'MATES' is coded as 'OBVFU'.

Revision Table: Alphabet Positions

Knowing the position of each letter in the alphabet is crucial for solving such coding problems. Here's a quick reference:

A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K	L	M
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13

N	O	P	Q	R	S	T	U	V	W	X	Y	Z
14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26

Additional Information: Types of Coding Decoding

Coding-decoding questions in competitive exams often follow different patterns. Here are a few common types:

Letter Shifting: As seen in this problem, letters are shifted a certain number of places forward or backward in the alphabet. The shift can be constant or vary based on the position of the letter (like +2, +1, +2, +1...).
Letter Substitution: Each letter is replaced by another specific letter or symbol. For example, A might always be coded as Z, B as Y, and so on (reverse alphabet).
Mixed Letter/Number/Symbol Coding: Words might be coded using numbers, symbols, or a mix of letters, numbers, and symbols based on various rules (e.g., position in word, position in alphabet, number of vowels/consonants).
Word Coding: Entire words are coded as other words based on a set of rules or logical connections.
Sentence Coding: Similar to word coding, but applied to entire sentences, where codes for individual words or phrases might be mixed up.

Practicing different types helps in quickly identifying the pattern during exams.