If "CHINA" is written as "FKLQD", how will "JAPAN" be written?
- (a)LDRCO
- (b)MDSDQ
- (c)KCPBO
- (d)MDTDR
Answer
Why
Correct — B.
Rule: every letter moves forward 3 places.
Check on CHINA → FKLQD:
C → F, H → K, I → L, N → Q, A → D ✓
Apply to JAPAN:
J → M, A → D, P → S, A → D, N → Q
JAPAN = MDSDQ → option (b).
Why the others are wrong
- (a)LDRCO — LDRCO mixes steps: J → L is +2, A → D +3, P → R +2, A → C +2, N → O +1. The code needs the same +3 at every letter.
- (c)KCPBO — KCPBO uses steps of +1, +2, 0, +1, +1. P stays P, which no +3 code allows.
- (d)MDTDR — MDTDR gets J and both As right but moves P → T and N → R, which are +4 steps. P + 3 is S and N + 3 is Q.
Concept
A letter-shift code moves each letter a fixed number of places. Find the shift by comparing positions in the example: C is 3rd and F is 6th, so +3.
Confirm it on every letter before using it, because some codes change the step from letter to letter. Here all five letters of CHINA move +3, so JAPAN gets the same treatment.
Repeated letters give a quick check. JAPAN has A in 2nd and 4th place, so its code must repeat a letter there. LDRCO (D, C) and KCPBO (C, B) fail at a glance.
Key facts
- Positions: C 3, F 6, J 10, M 13, P 16, S 19.
- A fixed-shift code keeps repeated letters repeated: both As of JAPAN become D.
Study next
Common traps
- Checking the shift on the first letter only and missing a code that changes step
- Miscounting P → S and picking the +4 option MDTDR
24 Sep 2025, 12:30, Reasoning Q.25 uses the same +3 shift: PEARL → SHDUO, so STONE is keyed VWRQH.
Related PYQs
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