Coding-Decoding — PPSC previous year questions

DECEMBER is split into pairs DE-CE-MB-ER and the pairs are written in reverse order: ER-MB-CE-DE. Reading ERMBVENO as pairs ER-MB-VE-NO and reversing their order gives NO-VE-MB-ER = NOVEMBER.

Number the letters of STRONG 1 to 6: S T R O N G. The code ROTNSG takes them in the order 3, 4, 2, 5, 1, 6. > NAGPUR: 1=N, 2=A, 3=G, 4=P, 5=U, 6=R > order 3,4,2,5,1,6 → G P A U N R So NAGPUR is written as GPAUNR.

Compare the sentences: 'peru' is common to 'fine cloth' and 'fine clear weather', so peru = fine; 'lisa' is common to 'clear water' and 'fine clear weather', so lisa = clear. The remaining word in 'fine clear weather' is dona, which must mean weather.

Each letter of ROMANCE moves two places back in the alphabet: R→P, O→M, M→K, A→Y, N→L, C→A, E→C. Apply the same −2 shift to BREACH. > B→Z, R→P, E→C, A→Y, C→A, H→F BREACH becomes ZPCYAF.

Compare the sentences pair by pair. 'many' is the only word common to the first and second. 'scored' is the only word common to the first and third. > how many goals scored = 5 3 9 7 ; many more matches = 9 8 2 → many = 9 > how many goals scored = 5 3 9 7 ; he scored five = 1 6 3 → scored = 3 > codes left in the first sentence: 5 and 7 for 'how' and 'goals' Nothing in the data separates 'how' from 'goals'. So the code for 'goals' is 5 or 7.

Compare the pairs of code words: 'gorbl' appears in both 'floor carpet' and 'wooden floor', so gorbl = floor, flur = carpet and pixn = wooden. From 'arthtusl' = rack ceiling, arth = rack and tusl = ceiling, and the word order in the code matches the English order. So 'wooden rack' = pixn + arth = pixnarth.

In CONDEMN → CNODMEN the first, fourth and seventh letters stay in place. The second and third letters swap, and the fifth and sixth letters swap. > T E A C H E R → keep T, swap E A → T A E > keep C, swap H E → C E H, keep R By the same rule TEACHER becomes TAECEHR.

Write HEALTH backwards (H-T-L-A-E-H) and move each letter one step back in the alphabet: H→G, T→S, L→K, A→Z, E→D, H→G, giving GSKZDG. Apply the same rule to NORTH. > reverse: N O R T H → H T R O N > one step back: H→G, T→S, R→Q, O→N, N→M So NORTH is coded as GSQNM.

'spark' is common to '234' and '456', and 4 is their only common digit, so spark = 4. 'fire' is common to '234' and '258', so fire = 2; 'is' is common to '456' and '258', so is = 5. In '456' (spark is cause) the digit left over, 6, must be 'cause'.

Compare the coded groups pairwise. Match the shared digit with the shared word. > '467' and '485' share only the digit 4 and only the word 'green' → 4 = green > '467' and '639' share only the digit 6 and only the word 'are' → 6 = are > '467' = leaves are green, so the digit left over gives 7 = leaves So 'leaves' stands for 7.