Codebusters Test Learning Standards 3

Question 1

In a columnar transposition cipher, what determines the order in which columns are read?

Accepted Answer

The alphabetical order of the keyword letters

Answer

Columns are reordered based on the alphabetical ranking of the keyword's letters (A=1, B=2, etc.).

Question 2

Which cipher type uses two interlocked 'rails' for encipherment, forming a zigzag pattern?

Accepted Answer

Rail fence cipher

Answer

The rail fence cipher writes plaintext diagonally across a set number of rails, then reads across each rail to produce ciphertext.

Question 3

In Codebusters, what is a 'null' character?

Accepted Answer

An inserted character that carries no message content

Answer

Null characters are meaningless letters or symbols inserted into ciphertext to disguise the true message length or structure.

Question 4

The Atbash cipher maps A↔Z, B↔Y, C↔X, etc. What kind of cipher is this?

Accepted Answer

A monoalphabetic substitution cipher

Answer

Atbash is a monoalphabetic substitution cipher where the alphabet is reversed; each letter maps consistently to one other letter.

Question 5

In a Xenocrypt event (Spanish Aristocrat), which Spanish letter pair is particularly important to recognize because it acts as a single unit?

Accepted Answer

LL and RR (traditional digraphs)

Answer

Traditional Spanish treats LL and RR as single letters/digraphs, and recognizing them helps with frequency analysis in Xenocrypt.

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