MS TRAN'S COW

• • BACKGROUND:  Before we started this project, we learned about caesar's cipher, a encrypting and decrypting method that the Roman Emperor Caesar used to communicate with his troops in complete secrecy. It works by shifting every letter by a certain digits forwards, for example, if a message is ABC, and the key is 1, the encrypted message would be BCD(each letter shifted by one). However, there is also multi-digit keys were each letter is shifted by a different number. If a message is ABC and it is encrypted with a multi-digit key such as 123, the result will be BDF. This makes it difficult to decode. Nonetheless, we created codes to encrypt and decrypt in both single digit and multi-digit keys:

Description:  Ms. Tran’s cow has gone missing and she would like to get our help in finding it. Our class would be divided into teams of two(I have been partnered with Sabrina), and each team will compete to try and decrypt messages to find Ms. Tran's cow.

• We will decode a series of Caesar-encrypted clues to uncover what happened, who did it, and where the cow is now.

  • We will receive 5 encrypted messages.

  • Each message is encrypted with a different Caesar shift.

  • The messages are in sequential story order—they must be solved in order.

  • Use logic, context clues, and your Caesar decryption skills to crack each one.

  • The final message will reveal the cow location.

  • We will receive the next clue only after we crack the previous one.

PROCEDURE

Clue one:

Our first clue to finding the cow was given as an encrypted message: 

Hmaly zllpun aol ovvm wypuaz vu aol mvvaihss mplsk, Tz. Ayhu ruvdz oly jvd ohz nvul tpzzpun! Zol pz whupjrpun! Jhu fvb olsw nla aol jvd ihjr?

By using the code we created last class to decrypt caesar ciphered messages by brute force(decrypting by shifting the lock 26 times using for loop), we easily decrypted this message, with the result of:

After seeing the hoof prints on the football field, Ms. Tran knows her cow has gone missing! She is panicking! Can you help get the cow back?

Clue two:

Our second clue to finding the cow was given as an encrypted message: 

Knltncc bjrm bqn bjf SQ trmb qjerwp odw frcq cqn lxf jwm njcrwp vrwc ljwmrnb cxpncqna wnja cqn Ldn Zdjm.zvtl QO rpkz lhapun tpua jhukf ulhy aol Jbl Xbhk.

By using the same methods and code we got:

Beckett said she saw JH kids having fun with the cow and eating mint candies together near the Cue Quad. some JH kids eating mint candy near the Cue Quad.

Clue three:

Our third clue to finding the cow was given as an encrypted message: 

Pibbqm umvbqwvml ammqvo i jzwsmv riz wn uqvb kivlqma qv bpm wnnqkm epmv apm bzqml bw omb wvm nwz pmzamtn.

By doing the same thing, the result is:

Hattie mentioned seeing a broken jar of mint candies in the office when she tried to get one for herself.

Clue four:

Our fourth clue to finding the cow was given as an encrypted message: 

Bjkarwj oxdwm j vrwc fajyyna wnja cqn Vdayqh yjcrx frcq j blarkkunm wxcn: ljuu vn jc 650806

Using the same code the result is:

Sabrina found a mint wrapper near the Murphy patio with a scribbled note: call me at 650806

Clue five:

The fifth clue is the hardest and most difficult clue to crack. This is because it is ciphered using a multi-digit key instead of a normal one digit key. For example, if a message is ABC, and the key is 1, the encrypted message would be BCD(each letter shifted by one). However,  if a message is ABC and it is encrypted with a multi-digit key such as 123, the result will be BDF. This makes it difficult to decode. 

Clue: Zme cud jaupe tnl kjtiy jgy eqoqe txfrvp yo gka pry fivuyrbn xnicq. Vx tnm yaxtn miu; on fgqkmd ax Vy. Aatjqmi’x wflplm zt oez liwjd, tnlw qasg oaa erzm bhk SP qnda.

The process I used was extremely complicated. I thought originally that the numbers given from the previous clue was the full key(from clue 4, 650806), which is partially correct since the number was part of the digits, except it wasn't the full digits. However, since I did not know that at the time, I thought I had to reposition all the digits until they eventually became correct. To my great disappointment that was not the solution. I then decided to attempt to add on numbers to the existing digits, and to add on specifically the number of times the message was shifted in previous codes. By following this strategy I ended up with clue one being shifted by 7, the second by 9, the third by 8, and lastly the fourth by 9. I added these numbers to the existing digits in the order of clue one to four, ending up with the digits: 6508067989. By plugging this digits as a key in my deciphering code, I finally cracked it, with the result of:

The cow broke the candy jar while trying to get his favorite snack. No one stole him; he walked to Ms. Sanchez’s office to get candy, then hung out with the JH kids.

Though this way might not be the best and efficient way to do it, I still decrypted it, meaning that...

THE PROBLEM IS SOLVED!!!

Reflection:

SOUL

S- Strength: I think the way I figured out the 5th clue was unique as I took the number of times I shifted the messages from other clues to decrypt it and added it to the fourth clue, resulting to the correct key.

O-Opportunities to improve: I think me and my partner should've worked together as a team more as the workload was distributed unevenly and we struggled to figure out how to decrypt clues only by ourselves.

U-Understanding: Because of the numerous attempts I used for the 5th clue and the different methods I used to try and crack it, I became familiar with the decrypting code and understood it well.

L-Limitations: Time was a huge limitation as I couldn't finish it within the first class period because of incorrect methods and I had to finish it over the weekend. to solve it.

WISCR- I think that the I in WISCR(Insightful and critical thinking) applied for me as for the 5th clue I came up with a unique solution and method for solving it, by including the amount of times I shifted to decrypt in the previous clues and adding it on to clue four. The S, self-motivated, also applied for me as i solved it at 1:00 am on a Saturday night, feeling extremely motivated to solve it before I go sleep, in which I did.