home1 Homework 1 (7% of the final grade) [Note a small change in submission procedure]

Here are the puzzles for the start, have fun!
Please  submit a full account of your deductive process in writing (especially for puzzles 2 and 3)
at the  lecture  on 23.03.2000.  If you spent an hour solving the problem, don't write:  "I was lucky to
guess that this 18 letter word stood for "transconfiguration".  Describe also what you did in the hour
preceding to this striking discovery (i.e. you trials and errors, dead ends, etc.). Please make you papers
laconic: 2-3 pages are enough. Your submissions will be graded, based on the reasoning and deductions
or (computer assisted clues) that you demonstrate (a correct plaintext will be only about 1/2  of your grade).
Submission is in singles.

Please note that the deadline is strict.


1) Solve this simple substitution cipher (word division and punctuation preserved).
The plaintext is a quotation in English.  (20% of the grade)
 

"V H X    Q B S G I    S Q    S P    P H    P S F J C A    Q H    E A

P S F J C A ?    G H Q    L Q    L C C .    S    B L Z A    Q M S A N

B L M N    R H M    V A L M P ."

                                            C A H G L M N    E A M G P Q A S G .


2) Below is a turning grille (6x6) transposition cipher example. Rotations are clockwise as they were in
the class demonstration. What is the sentence hidden in it?  (40% of the grade)

S E I T I R
H T E I N E
C L E S T E
A C I E I W
H T V E E A
E D V E K R


3) "HOW TO RUIN AN ASSOCIATION" (credit to the anonymous, resembles Mark Twain's joke)

Once upon a time, the Midtown Chapter was one of the most active chapters in the association.
It was a smooth-running, efficient organization that enjoyed great prestige in the community.

Then one day, things began to change. One of the members said to himself, "No one will miss
 me. I have so many other things to do, I think I'll drop out of the chapter's activities."

 So hx bxgan to avoid chaptxr functions. Hx rxfusxd to accxpt his rxsponsibilitixs, and thx
 chaptxr had to limp along with onx lxss mxmbxr. Of coursx, thx chaptxr could gxt along without
 him, but it mxant that onx of thx rxmaining mxmbxrs had to doublx up and do twicx as much work
 as bxforx.

Thxn, onx morx mxmbxr dxcidxd to givx up his sharx of chaptxr activitixs.

This mxznt thzt two mxmbxrs hzd to do doublx duty.

Thxn z third mxmbxr droppxd jut, znd thrxx jf thx jthxrs hzd tj wjrk hzrdxr thzn xvxr.

Thxn z fjurth znd z fifth drjppxd jut, znd mjrx jf qhx rxmzknkng zcqkvx mxmbxrs sqzrqxd wjrkkng
hzrdxr qhzn xvxr.

Zs qkmx wxnq jn, mzny mjrx jf qhx chzptxr mxmbxrs drjppxd jut, znd kq ljjkxd lkkx qhks:

Qjx jxxj xkxx qjzq kxqx xxxq jzk qj kj xxxqjqjkxz.

Zxk kx jjj zqx zqkxx qxzkkxz qjkz qjqjjzj kq kzz xjq zj kzk zq zxx!
 


Your task is to decipher the last three lines of this text. (40% of the grade)
[Hint:  (a) the remaining members do only the jobs of the others in the last two sentences, (b) no rare
or strange words are used in these sentences, (c) if you think there are several possible solutions,
coherent with the story , list all of them, together with an explanation]