Codebusters Test Graduation Requirements 2

Question 1

At the invitational and regional levels of Codebusters, which cipher type is NOT typically included in the graduation requirements?

Accepted Answer

RSA public-key cipher

Answer

RSA public-key cipher is an advanced cryptographic algorithm not covered at invitational or regional Codebusters levels.

Question 2

In Codebusters scoring, what is the standard penalty applied for an incorrect letter submission on a running key or Vigenere cipher?

Accepted Answer

10 points deducted per wrong letter

Answer

Incorrect letters on keyed ciphers typically incur a 10-point deduction per wrong letter in standard Science Olympiad Codebusters scoring.

Question 3

Which of the following best describes the 'Xenocrypt' cipher that appears in Codebusters graduation requirements at the national level?

Accepted Answer

A monoalphabetic substitution cipher in Spanish

Answer

A Xenocrypt is a monoalphabetic substitution cipher whose plaintext is in Spanish, requiring frequency analysis with Spanish letter distributions.

Question 4

To graduate from the invitational division to the regional division in Codebusters, teams must demonstrate proficiency in how many members per team?

Accepted Answer

3 members

Answer

Codebusters is a 3-member Science Olympiad event at all competition levels.

Question 5

When completing a Baconian cipher for Codebusters graduation requirements, what is the alphabet size used in the standard two-alphabet version?

Accepted Answer

24 letters (I=J, U=V)

Answer

The standard Baconian cipher uses a 24-letter alphabet where I and J share one code and U and V share another.

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