Question

An encryption machine uses a formula to encrypt words, by taking each letter and changing it to the letter that is just before it in the alphabet. If the letter is 'B', it changes it to what?

a) Z
b) A
c) Y
d) C

Answer 1

In an encryption system that replaces each letter with its predecessor in the alphabet, the letter 'B' would be encrypted to 'A'. This is a simple substitution cipher, a precursor to more advanced encryption techniques such as those used in WWII.

Step-by-step explanation:

If an encryption machine changes each letter in a word to the letter that is right before it in the alphabet, then if the letter is 'B', the encryption machine would change it to 'A'. This is because 'A' is the letter that comes immediately before 'B' in the English alphabet. This type of encryption is a simple form of a substitution cipher, where each letter is replaced by another letter according to a rule. The concept behind this question is fundamental to understanding more complex encryption methods such as the Transposition Cipher used in the Zimmerman Telegram or the famous Enigma machine decrypted by Alan Turing during World War II.