CODING AND DECODING QUESTIONS SHORTCUT TRICKS IN REASONING OF APTITUDECoding and decoding questions are asked in many competitive exams but the level of questions differs. For example in SSC, the level of questions in easy to medium while in IBPS exams, the level of questions is difficult. In IBPS, coding and decoding questions comes under Machine Coding and Decoding Topic. But in SSC exams, Coding Decoding questions asked are quite easy as compared to IBSP exams. We have already given shortcut tricks to Machine Coding and decoding questions for IBPS exams. This time we are discussing about coding and decoding questions shortcut tricks in reasoning of SSC Exams.

For solving coding and decoding questions, you have to learn a few basics.

1. Letter position (A=1, B=2, C=3, D=4…….Y=25, Z=26)2. Opposite position of letters (A=26, B=25….Z=1)3. Opposite of each letter (A is opposite to Z and B is opposite to Y and C is opposite to X…..learn all alphabets opposite)

Coding and decoding reasoning questions part #1-fully explainedThe coding and decoding of reasoning test is set up to judge the candidate’s ability to decipher the rule that codes a word/message and break the code to decipher the message. In questions, a word is given coded in a particular way and candidates are asked to code the other given word in the same manner as the first given word was coded.

There are basically five types of coding and decoding questions that are asked in the examination.

1. Order based questions2. Substitution for words3. Number symbol coding4. Substitution based coding5. Deciphering number and symbol codes in a message

1. Order based questions:-

Here is a question for example of this type of questions.

Ex. In a certain language, if ‘BOYS’ is written as ‘SOYB’, how is ‘GIRL’ coded in that language.

Solution:- in these types of questions, the order of placement of alphabets or words usually

changes. Now in this question, letter B has been placed at 4th position and the positions of 2nd and third letters are not changed. Letters at 4th position has been placed at first position in the coded language.

B-1st position-->S-4th position

O-O

Y-Y

S-4th position-->B-1st position

Means BOYS-SOYB

Similarly

G-1st position-->L-4th position

I-I

R-R

L-4th position-->G-1st position

Means GIRL-LIRG

2. Substitution for words

In this type of question, a particular word is assigned a certain substituted name and a question is asked to be given in that substituted name. here is an example…

Ex. if sky is star, star is cloud, cloud is earth, earth is tree and tree is book, then where do the birds fly?

1. Star2. Sky3. Cloud4. Earth5. None of these

Solution:- we know that in reality birds fly in the sky but in this question, as given sky is called star (option no. 1). So star (option no. 1) is the answer.

3. Number-Symbol coding

In these types of questions, letters and numbers are made related to each other. These are of two types

1.       When numerical/symbol codes are assigned to wordsEx. If REQUEST is written as S2R52TU, then how will ACID be written?Sol. In this question, alternate letters are moved to next letter in alphabet series and vowels are written as their position in their own series.

RàSEà2 (A-1, E-2, I-3, O-4, U-5)QàRUà5Eà2SàTTàU

Similarly

Aà1CàDIà3DàE

Means ACID will be coded as 1D3E 

2.     When alphabetical codes are assigned to numbersIn this type of questions, different words are coded in a certain symbol. We have to encode them as per the conditions given in the questions. So read the conditions very carefully and then try to solve these type of questions.

4. Substitution based question-  in substitution based questions, three types of question are basically asked.                 In first type of questions, the letters are directly coded in the same pattern as per the given examples and we have to form the letters as per those given letters changes.                                Ex. If EARTH is coded as QPMZS, then how would HEART be coded?                The main detection point of these questions is that the word that is asked to be coded will contain those same alphabets as given in the first sentence. So in this example, the letters of EARTH and HEART are same, so HEART will be coded as SQPMZ                In the second type of questions, each letter is moved certain steps forward to obtain the corresponding letter of the code.                                Ex. In a certain code, VICTORY is written as YLFWRUB, then how will SUCCESS be written in that language?                                Sol. In this question, every letter is moved three step forward in their position in the alphabetical series to obtain the corresponding letter of the code.                In the third type of questions, the letter are arranged opposite to the position of them in the alphabetical series. The rule is as under

A-Z, B-Y, C-X, D-W, E-V, F-U, G-T, H-S, I-R, J-Q, K-P, L-O, M-N, N-M, O-L, P-K, Q-J, R-I, S-H, T-G, U-F, V-E, W-D, X-C, Y-B, Z-AMemorize this series on your fingertips for easy solution of the problems.                                Ex. In a certain language, MILK is written as NROP, how will DEAF be written

                                Sol.  First you have to find out the question type. Now MILK is written as NROP. You can understand if you have memorized the series given above that N is opposite to M, R is opposite to I, O is opposite to L and P is opposite to K. Now as per the rule given above this question, D is opposite to W, E is opposite to V, A is opposite to Z and F is opposite to U. so DEAF will  be coded as WVZU.

5. Deciphering number and symbol codes in a message-These types of questions are mostly asked in coding and decoding type of reasoning questions. In this type of questions, a few group of number or symbols in which each codes a certain message is given. The candidate is required to find the number or symbol code for each code or you have to formulate all the codes of the message. You can do that through the process of comparison of the given coded message taking at least two at a time.For example, look at the given question below-

In a certain language, ‘come now’ is written as ‘ha na’, ‘ now and then’ is written as ‘pa do na’ and ‘go then’ is written as ‘sa pa’. how is ‘and’ written in that language.

Sol. Now there are three statements given

1.       Come now-ha na2.       Now and then- pa do na3.       Go then-sa pa

The shortcut trick for these questions is trying to find out the common words among the given statements. Try to find out the common word among the 1st and 2nd statement. The common word is ‘now’.  As you see, the corresponding coded conversion is ‘na’. similarly, try to find out the common word in 2nd and 3rd statement. Again you see the common word is ‘then’.  So the corresponding coded word(among ‘pa do na’ and ‘sa pa’) is ‘pa’. Now you have found out two conversions…Now-naThen-paSo from the 2nd statement, ‘pa’ and ‘na’ corresponds to ‘then’ and ‘now’ respectively. So from 2nd statement, the remaining word ‘and’ will correspond to ‘do’.So ‘and’ will be coded as ‘do’.

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Here are coding and decoding questions shortcut tricks (easy solution).Type-1- Letter : In a certain code, CODING is written as DPEJOH. How will DECODING be written in that code?Answer: the simple formula or the shortcut trick to solve this type of question is to compare the first coded words. The number of steps that are increase of each letter in first conversion, the same formula should be applied to code that has to be converted. Just like in CODING and DPEJOH, 1 point step is added (C+1=D, O+1=P as per alphabet).Now compare each letter one to another like compare each letter of CODING and DPEJOH.Comparing 1st letter of CODING to 1st of DPEJOH.C is converted to D.You know C’s next letter in alphabets is D.O’s next letter is P.D’s next letter is E.I’s next letter is J.N’s next- OG’s next- HThis was how CODING was converted to DPEJOH. Now the same way you have to convert DECODING.So D- is converted to -E.E-FC-DO-PD-EI-JN-OG-HSo DECODING should be converted to EFDPEJOH.Note: in the shown conversion of a question, there might be letters in which +2, +3, +4 etc. positions are added. In that case, add the same position to the asked word.

Type 2-Number: Position of letter are added or remains constant. The Main idea to solve these questions is to apply the conversion that is shown like in above question “CODING is written as DPEJOH”. You have to apply the same conversion to DECODING word. Same trick you have to apply to Number coding. For converting letters to numbers, you have to remember the conversion basic given above.Like FEAR can be converted to 65118 as shown belowF=6E=5A=1R=18

Or it can also be converted to the addition of these means 6+5+1+18=30. The same way should be applied for the asked CODE.

LCM AND HCF SHORTCUT METHODS FOR SOLVING IN SECONDS IN MIND Shortcut methods of Finding LCM and HCF

Lowest common multiple LCM and Highest Common Factor HCF are the most used methods of Mathematics and also the most important as they are used in finding the solution of many other question’s solution. With these shortcut methods of finding LCM and HCF, you can easily solve LCM and HCF of two or more numbers in your mind in seconds.So here are the shortcut methods or formulas of finding the LCM and HCF of numbersFirst let us discuss shortcut formula of finding the LCM of numbers.When you practice this method, you can easily solve LCM of numbers in seconds in your mind. The below give method can easily be used to solve LCM of numbers in seconds without the use of paper work.THE BELOW GIVEN METHOD OF FINDING LCM OF NUMBERS IS ONE OF THE BEST IF PRACTICED BETTER.Here is an example.Suppose you are given a question:Find the LCM of 12, 18?Now here is the shortcut formula for solution of LCM of two numbers or more numbers given above.Step 1:pick the highest of the given numbers of whom we have to find the LCM.In the above example question, pick 18 as it is highest among 12 and 18.Step 2: check it whether it can be divided by other number(s). if you can divide it, then it means your answer is that highest number. But if you cannot divide it by other number(s), then follow the step 3 given below. In the above example, check 18 whether it can be divided by 12 or not. Since 18 cannot be divided by 12, so move on to step 3.

Step 3: multiply the highest number to 2,3,4,… and so on till you find that number which can also be divided by the other number(s).In the above problem, multiply 18 to 2 in your mind, it is equal to 36. Now check it whether it can be divided by 12. Since 36 can be divided by 12, so 36 is the LCM of 12,18.Now let us take another example.Find the LCM of 2, 3, 5?Shortcut formula: pick 5 since it is highest number among the three. Now check it whether it can be divided by 2 and 3. 5 cannot be divided by 2 and 3. Now think of 5x2= 10 (since you know the table of 5). Check whether it can be divided by 2 and 3. It again cannot be divided. Now think of 15 then 20 then 25 then 30. Now 30 is that number which can be divided by 2 and 3. So the LCM of 2, 3, 5 is 30.When you practice this method, you can easily solve LCM of numbers in seconds in your mind.Here is an alternate basic method of finding LCM of Numbers

LCM of numbers: find all the factors of numbers. Now multiply the prime factors but the common prime factors should be multipliedFor example Find LCM of 12, 15?The prime factors of 12 are 2, 2 and 3 because 12= 2x2x3The prime factors of 15 are 3 and 5 because 15= 3x5Now multiply each prime factor but the common prime factors should be multiplied once  i.e. since 3 is common prime factor among the factors given above, so we will multiply 3 only once. So the LCM of 12 and 15 is 2x2x3x5= 60Shortcut method of finding HCF (Highest common factor)To find the HCF of numbers, first prime factors of given numbers. Now multiply all the common prime factors.Let us take an example.Find the HCF of 42, 70?Solution: list the prime factors of both numbers.42= 2x3x770= 2x5x7Now find the common prime factor. The common prime factors are 2 and 7. So multiply 2 and 7.2x7= 14So the HCF of 42 and 70 is 14.

Tricks for series questions in reasoning for solving them quickly Tricks on how to solve series problems in reasoning quickly

Series questions are asked in almost all the competitive examination in reasoning section. So it is very important for a candidate who is preparing for competitive exams to solve series problems as quickly as possible and also as accurately as possible. So here are some of the tricks that will give you some idea on how to solve series questions in reasoning quickly.

To solve series questions in reasoning, you have to follow the below given steps in order to solve the given series in shortest possible time.

Step 1: check the series to see whether it is decreasing or increasing or alternating.

Step 2: do this step if the series is increasing or decreasing.Check to see if the series in increasing gradually or slowly. If it is so, then it might be an addition series. However if the series is rising sharply but slows down later, then there is more chances that the series might be formed by squared or cubed numbers. But if the series is equally sharp throughout, then there are more chances that the series is multiplication based (with or without addition or subtraction). The same idea also applies when the series is decreasing (vice-versa).If the rise of the series is irregular, then there might be a mix of two series going alternately.Now let us apply the above ideas to solve some example questions of series.

Find the next number in the series?16, 17, 21, 30, 46, ?You can see that the series is increasing first by 1, then by 4, then by 9, then by 16. So the series is rising sharply. It means it should be a series of squared or cubed numbers added at each step. Also when you look at the difference of numbers (1,4,9,16, ?), you can easily figure out that the difference of numbers are the squares of normal number series i.e. 1,2,3,4,?. So according to number series, 5 should come after 4. When we square 5, it equals 25. So we add 25 to 46 which equals 71. So 71 should be the next number in the series.

Now let us take another example of a series.

Find next number in-2, 4, 22, 58, 118, ?Solution: as you can see the series increases sharply in the start when it goes from 4 to 22, but then it slows down in the last. So it is more likely to be a series in which addition of squared or cubed numbers is done. Also there is a minus number in the series (-2), so it means there might be something deducted from the series. Upon checking the speedy rise, we can figure out that the series increases by the below given pattern.(1^3)-3= -2(2^3)-4= 4

(3^3)-5= 22(4^3)-6= 58(5^3)-7= 118(6^3)-8= 208So 208 should be the next number in the series.

1. In a certain code, TRIPPLE is written as SQHOOKD. How is DISPOSE written in that code ?

Option:

A. CHRONRDB. DSOESPIC. ESJTPTFD. ESOPSIDE. None of theseAnswer: A . CHRONRD

Justification:

Each letter in the word is moved one step backward to obtain the corresponding letter of the code.

2. If in a certain language, MADRAS is coded as NBESBT, how is BOMBAY coded in that code ?

Option:

A. CPNCBXB. CPNCBZC. CPOCBZD. CQOCBZE. None of theseAnswer: B . CPNCBZ

Justification:

Each letter in the word is moved one step forward to obtain the corresponding letter of the code.

3. If in a code language, COULD is written as BNTKC and MARGIN is written as LZQFHM, how will MOULDING be written in that code ?

Option:

A. CHMFINTKB. LNKTCHMFC. LNTKCHMFD. NITKHCMFE. None of theseAnswer: C . LNTKCHMF

Justification:

Each letter in the word is moved one step backward to obtain the corresponding letter of the code.

4. In a certain code, MONKEY is written as XDJMNL. How is TIGER written in that code ?

Option:

A. QDFHSB. SDFHSC. SHFDQD. UJHFSE. None of theseAnswer: A . QDFHS

Justification:

The letters of the word are written in a reverse order and then each letter is moved one step backward to obtain the code.

5. In a certain code, COMPUTER is written as RFUVQNPC. How is MEDICINE written in the same code?

Option:

A. EOJDJEFMB. EOJDEJFMC. MFEJDJOED. MFEDJJOEE. None of theseAnswer: A . EOJDJEFM

Justification:

The letters of the word are written in a reverse order and each letter, except the first and the last one, is moved one step forward, to obtain the code.

6. If VICTORY is coded as YLFWRUB, how can SUCCESS be coded ?

Option:

A. VXEEIVVB. VXFFHVVC. VYEEHVVD. VYEFIVVE. None of these

Answer: B . VXFFHVV

Justification:

Each letter of the word is moved three steps forward to obtain the code.

7. In a certain code, TOGETHER is written as RQEGRJCT. In the same code, PAROLE will be written as

Option:

A. NCPQJGB. NCQPJGC. RCPQJKD. RCTQNCE. None of theseAnswer: A . NCPQJG

Justification:

The letters at odd positions are each moved two steps backward and those at even positions are each moved two steps forward to obtain the corresponding letters of the code.

8. If BOMBAY is written as MYMYMY, how will TAMIL NADU be written in that code ?

Option:

A. TIATIATIAB. MNUMNUMNUC. IATIATIATD. ALDALDALDE. None of theseAnswer: B . MNUMNUMNU

Justification:

The letters at the third and sixth places are repeated thrice to code BOMBAY as MYMYMY.Similarly, the letters at the third, sixth and ninth places are repeated thrice to code TAMIL NADU as MNUMNUMNU.

9. If FRIEND is coded as HUMJTK, how is CANDLE written in that code ?

Option:

A. EDRIRLB. DCQHQKC. ESJFME

D. FYOBOCE. DEQJQMAnswer: A . EDRIRL

Justification:

The first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth letters of th word are respectively moved two, three, four, five, six and seven steps forward to obtain the corresponding letters of the code.

10. If in a certain language, COUNSEL is coded as BITIRAK, how is GUIDANCE written in that code ?

Option:

A. EOHYZKBBB. FOHYZJBBC. FPHZZKABD. HOHYBJBAE. None of theseAnswer: B . FOHYZJBB

Justification: The letters at odd positions are each moved one step backward, while the letters at even positions are respectively moved six, five, four, three, two,... steps backward to obtain the corresponding letters of the code.

11. If DELHI is coded as 73541 and CALCUTTA as 82589662, how can CALICUT be coded ?

Option:

A. 5279431B. 5978213C. 8251896D. 8543691Answer: C . 8251896

Justification:

The alphabets are coded as follows :

D E L H I C A U T

7 3 5 4 1 8 2 9 6

So, in CALICUT,C is coded as 8, A as 2,L as 5,I as 1,U as 9   andT as 6.Thus, the code for CALICUT is 8251896.

12. In a certain code, RIPPLE is written as 613382 and LIFE is written as 8192. How is PILLER written in that code ?

Option:

A. 318826

B. 318286

C. 618826

D. 338816

Answer: A . 318826

Justification:

The alphabets are coded as shown :

R I P L E F

6 1 3 8 2 9

So, in PILLER,P is coded as 3,I as 1,L as 8,E as 2   andR as 6.Thus, the code for PILLER is 318826.

13. If ROSE is coded as 6821, CHAIR is coded as 73456 and PREACH is coded as 961473, what will be the code for SEARCH ?

Option:

A. 246173

B. 214673C. 214763D. 216473Answer: B . 214673

Justification:

The alphabets are coded as shown :

R O S E C H A I P

6 8 2 1 7 3 4 59

So, in SEARCH,S ia coded as 2,E as 1,A as 4,R as 6,C as 7,H as 3.Thus, the code for SEARCH is 214673.

14. If in a certain code, TWENTY is written as 863985 and ELEVEN is written as 323039, how is TWELVE written in that code ?

Option:

A. 863203B. 863584C. 863903D. 863063Answer: A . 863203

Justification:

The alphabets are coded as shown :

T W E N Y L V

8 6 3 9 5 2 0

So, In TWELVE ,T is coded as 8,

W as 6,E as 3,L as 2,V as 0.Thus, the code for  TWELVE is 863203.

15. If the letters in PRABA are coded as 27595, and THILAK are coded as 368451, how can BHARATHI be coded ?

Option:

A. 37536689B. 57686535C. 96575368D. 96855368Answer: C . 96575368

Justification:

The alphabets are soded as shown :

P R A B T H I L K

2 7 5 9 3 6 8 4 1

So, B is coded as 9, H as 6,A as 5,R as 7,T as 3   andI as 8.Thus, the code for BHARATHI is 96575368.

16. If GIVE is coded as 5137 and BAT is coded as 924, how is GATE coded ?

Option:

A. 5427B. 5724C. 5247D. 2547Answer: C . 5247

Justification:

The alphabets are soded as shown :

G I V E B A T

5 1 3 7 9 2 4

So, G is coded as 5,A as 2,T as 4   andE as 7.Thus, the code fro GATE is 5247.

17. If PALE is coded as 2134, EARTH is coded as 41590, how is PEARL coded in that code ?

Option:

A. 29530B. 24153C. 25413D. 25430Answer: B . 24153

Justification:

The alphabets are coded as shown :

P A L E R T H

2 1 3 4 5 9 0

So, P is coded as 2,E as 4,A as 1,R as 5   andL as 3.Thus, the code for PEARL is 24153.

18. If in a certain language if ENTRY is coded as 12345 and STEADY is coded as 931785, then state which is the correct code for below word. TENANT

Option:

A. 956169

B. 196247C. 352123D. 312723Answer: D . 312723

Justification:

The alphabets are soded as shown :

E N T R Y S A D

1 2 3 4 5 9 7 8

T is coded as 3E as 1,N as 2  andA as 7.So, TENANT is coded as 312723.

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