Description: This project is to use different encrypted messages as clues to find the missing cow. We are required to create code to decrypt the secret message and locate the cow to win a prize.
Procedure: First, we watched a video, introducing the concept of Caesar Cipher. After watching, we learned how to code a simple Caesar Cipher encryption code with one key, in which we experienced trial and error and also learned how to make the list infinite by looping back to the beginning of the list (of letters) using the %26. Then, we made a decryption function to decrypt the encrypted message by subtracting the key instead of adding. We proceeded to make the Caesar Cipher code more difficult by giving each character a unique key. We started with 10 digit keys, and then we went onto any key. We did this by taking a long string of numbers and separating each number then putting into a list. We also used %len(thelist) to make the key flip over to the next characters to make it encrypt everything and not go over the list length. Next, we also made a decryption code for it. Then, we were given a challenge: to find the missing cow using 5 encrypted messages as clues. We used our previous knowledge and created some functions to decrypt the message by trying out all the possibilities.
Clue 1: Vb. Cajw oxdwm jw xynw pjcn. Bqn rb yjwrltrwp knljdbn qna lxf qjb pxwn vrbbrwp!
Clue 1: Ms. Tran found an open gate. She is panicking because her cow has gone missing!
Derived: This message told us that Ms. Tran had lost her cow.
Clue 2: Tcwn uckf jg ucy vjg eqy jcpikpi qwv ykvj LJ mkfu kp vjg Ewg Swcf gcvkpi okpv ecpfa.
Clue 2: Raul said he saw the cow hanging out with JH kids in the Cue Quad eating mint candy.
Derived: This message told us the cow is still on campus and it was eating candy, suggesting it is near the office as Ms. Sanchez has mint candy.
Clue 3: Tz. Ayhu yljhssz zllpun Tz. Rpun huk Tz. Zhujolg lhapun aol zhtl tpua jhukf.
Clue 3: Ms. Tran recalls seeing Ms. King and Ms. Sanchez eating the same mint candy.
Derived: This message told us that the candy is either from Ms. Sanchez's or Ms. King's office. This probably means that cow is over there.
Clue 4: Awumwvm nwcvl i kivlg ezixxmz eqbp “Kitt um” ezqbbmv vmfb bw i vcujmz: 650806….
Clue 4: Someone found a candy wrapper with “Call me” written next to a number: 650806….
Derived: This message tells us a part of the Clue5 key and since it is a phone number we know that we need four more digits to satisfy the key.
Clue 5: Zme cuf swbjs cgwfpmy aa sdeo gx goa fv. So otn zbuqe iz. Pb batkkm aw Rs. Yjpjpke’a uohpkk tw mnv pox nabxtpbk svait.
Clue 5: The cow loves candies as much as you do. No one stole it. It walked to Ms. Sanchez’s office to get his favorite snack.
Derived: This message tells us that the cow was not stolen and also where it is, which is Ms. Sanchez's office.
Solution: For clues 1-4, I created a for loop that circulates through the range of the length of the message. Outside of the for loop, I created a variable that would +=1 every time the loop circulates through one letter, to try all the possibilities. Furthermore, I used the decrypt10() function. In clue5, I took a different approach. Instead of using the previous function, which I found to be incapable of decrypting the last message, I created a function that ran through all the possibilities of 4 digit combinations and concatenated the different combinations with the phone number provided in clue4 (650806_ _ _ _). The missing four digits was 9278.
S- The strength of my work is my efficiency and determination. During the project, I found myself stuck twice with coding errors, yet I didn't give up. Through reading the error description, I found the mistake and fixed the code.
O- Some opportunities to improve are to challenge myself and properly use clues 1-4 to help me figure out clue 5 as Ms. Tran told us that the first 4 clues are supposed to make up the last 4 digits of the phone number/10-digit key.
U- During this project, I learned how to use python and code a Caesar Cipher with a one-digit key, ten-digit key, and multi-digit key.
L- A limitation I encountered was when the code was not working and kept on giving me errors, though I did find and fix the error at the end.
WISCR: During this project, I think I displayed the W (well-rounded) and the I (insightful critical thinker) in WISCR because I showed determination even when facing countless error messages. I pushed through and fixed the error by debugging the code. I also worked well with my partner, helping him (Arius) debug his code's problems as well.