Python Cow Project

The goal of this project was to find Ms. Tran's lost cow. We recieved clues, but they were encrypted using the Ceasar Cipher. In order to solve them and locate the cow, we had to use our code. 

For the first 4 clues, the key was just one digit. We had a program for this which showed us the outcomes of every possible key number. 

Clue #1: 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?

This clue translated to "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 #2: 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. 

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

Clue #3: Pibbqm umvbqwvml ammqvo i jzwsmv riz wn uqvb kivlqma qv bpm wnnqkm epmv apm bzqml bw omb wvm nwz pmzamtn.

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

Clue #4: Bjkarwj oxdwm j vrwc fajyyna wnja cqn Vdayqh yjcrx frcq j blarkkunm wxcn: ljuu vn jc 650806.

This clue said "Sabrina found a mint wrapper near the Murphy patio with a scribbled note: call me at 650806."

For the last clue, we quickly realised that the key would be multi-digit when we plugged it into the code and it didn't give us a real sentence. We used our multi-digit program. We guessed that the "phone number" from clue 4 was the first part of the key from #5, but we needed 4 more numbers for it to the a complete phone number, so we recognised that we needed 4 more to find the complete key. After plugging in 650806, we guessed a couple more of the digits with trial and error and got lucky. Once we had two more digits, we were able to almost completely make out what the message said, and calculated the final two numbers.

Clue #5: 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.

This clue translated to "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."

Our final multi-digit key for this was 6508067989.

S - One of our strengths was that me and Larry worked very efficiently. We were quick with every clue, and had a system where I would quickly email Ms. Tran after getting the clues while he plugged the code in.

O - We got the opportunity to work in a project with a partner instead of independently.

U - We started to understand a lot more about how Ceaser Cipher worked. 

L - One of our limitations was how long it took us to figure out the fifth clue. It took us a long time trying to figure out and use trial and error to find the last couple digits.

WISCR 

I - We had to be very insightful and think deeply about how the clues worked and figure out what to do for each clue.

C - Me and Larry had to work very well together and communicate a lot. It was important that we were always on the same page with everything we were doing.