USPS Character Transposition Errors 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A letter is addressed to '5512 Cherrywood Ct' but the database shows '5521 Cherrywood Ct'. What error is present?
- A digit was deleted from the house number
- House number digits '1' and '2' were transposed (Correct answer)
- The street name suffix 'Ct' is incorrect
- The house number has an extra digit
Correct answer: House number digits '1' and '2' were transposed
The house number 5521 shows digits '2' and '1' transposed compared to the correct 5512.
Question 2: Which of the following is NOT a transposition error?
- 'Boston' entered as 'Bsoton'
- 'Miami' entered as 'Mimai'
- 'Phoenix' entered as 'Phoenxi'
- 'Denver' entered as 'Denvor' (Correct answer)
Correct answer: 'Denver' entered as 'Denvor'
'Denvor' replaces 'e' with 'o', which is a substitution error, not a transposition.
Question 3: An OCR machine reads apartment number 'Apt 61B' as 'Apt 16B'. The error type is:
- Digit substitution — '6' replaced with a different digit
- Character transposition — digits '6' and '1' swapped positions (Correct answer)
- Character insertion — an extra digit was added
- Field transposition — the number and letter sections swapped
Correct answer: Character transposition — digits '6' and '1' swapped positions
OCR transposed digits '6' and '1', reading 16 instead of the correct 61.
Question 4: Mail is sent to 'Ms. Sahra Thompson' when the correct name is 'Ms. Sarah Thompson'. What occurred?
- Letter 'e' was deleted from the first name
- Letters 'a' and 'h' were transposed in 'Sarah' (Correct answer)
- Letter 'r' was substituted with 'h' in the first name
- The honorific and first name were swapped
Correct answer: Letters 'a' and 'h' were transposed in 'Sarah'
'Sarah' became 'Sahra' because letters 'a' and 'h' (positions 3 and 4) were swapped.
Question 5: Which ZIP code pair shows a transposition error?
- Correct: 94102 — Entered: 94120 (Correct answer)
- Correct: 10001 — Entered: 10011
- Correct: 33101 — Entered: 33011
- Correct: 85001 — Entered: 85100
Correct answer: Correct: 94102 — Entered: 94120
94102 vs 94120 shows digits '0' and '2' transposed in the last two positions.
Question 6: A delivery notice shows 'Rte 9W' but should read 'Rte W9'. In sorting, this causes:
- No issue since W9 and 9W refer to the same route
- A transposition error that could misdirect the piece (Correct answer)
- A valid abbreviation difference accepted by USPS
- An insertion error since both characters are still present
Correct answer: A transposition error that could misdirect the piece
Swapping '9' and 'W' creates a transposition that changes the route identifier and can misdirect mail.
Question 7: A sorter catches '214 Elm St' filed under '241 Elm St'. The employee should:
- Accept both as equivalent since the street name matches
- Flag as a transposition error affecting the house number (Correct answer)
- Return the piece as undeliverable immediately
- Forward to a supervisor without marking the error type
Correct answer: Flag as a transposition error affecting the house number
House numbers 214 and 241 differ by a digit transposition ('1' and '4' swapped) and must be flagged.
USPS Character Transposition Errors 3
A letter is addressed to '5512 Cherrywood Ct' but the database shows '5521 Cherrywood Ct'.
What error is present?