If SCHOOL is coded as TIDPPM, how is TIDPPM coded?
- (a)UJEQQN
- (b)UOZQQN
- (c)TJEQQN
- (d)UJEQPN
Answer
Why
Correct — B.
Rule: each position keeps its own step. SCHOOL → TIDPPM moves the letters +1, +6, −4, +1, +1, +1.
S→T +1, C→I +6, H→D −4, O→P +1, O→P +1, L→M +1
Apply the same steps to TIDPPM:
T + 1 = U, I + 6 = O, D − 4 = Z (wrapping back past A)
P + 1 = Q, P + 1 = Q, M + 1 = N
That spells UOZQQN, option (b).
Why the others are wrong
- (a)UJEQQN — UJEQQN moves every letter of TIDPPM by +1. The example does not: C → I is +6 and H → D is −4, so the second and third letters must move by those steps.
- (c)TJEQQN — TJEQQN leaves T unmoved, though S → T in the example moves the first letter +1. It also moves I and D by +1 instead of +6 and −4.
- (d)UJEQPN — UJEQPN moves I and D by +1 instead of +6 and −4, and leaves the second P unmoved where the fifth letter must move +1.
Concept
A one-example letter code fixes a step for each position. Write the positions of both words, subtract column by column, and if the steps differ, keep the whole list and apply it in order to the new word.
Here four columns move +1, but C → I is +6 and H → D is −4. Counting back 4 from D passes A and lands on Z, because the alphabet wraps round.
The printed code is TIDPPM, not TDIPPM, so SCHOOL is not a uniform +1 shift. A candidate who spots +1 in four columns and applies it to all six lands on option (a). The key applies every column's own step.
Key facts
- SCHOOL → TIDPPM moves the letters +1, +6, −4, +1, +1, +1.
- Counting back past A wraps to Z, so D − 4 = Z.
- A uniform +1 on SCHOOL would give TDIPPM.
Study next
Common traps
- Seeing +1 in four columns and applying +1 to all six letters, which gives UJEQQN.
- Stopping at A when counting back from D instead of wrapping round to Z.
Coding a code a second time is also set at 21 Sep 2025, 09:00, Reasoning Q.25 (BRICK → CSJDL, so CSJDL → DTKEM) and at 23 Sep 2025, 09:00, Reasoning Q.23 (MARKER → NBSLFS, so NBSLFS → OCTMGT).
There every letter moves +1, which is exactly the assumption that fails here.
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.