Answer
I asked for 9 foot 2 inches (110 inches) and my friend brought me 2 foot 9 inches (33 inches).
Reasoning
I asked my friend to buy me A feet and B inches, which is a total of 12A + B inches.
He accidentally bought me B feet and A inches, which is 12B + A inches.
We know that 12B + A is actually only 30% of what I wanted, so:
12B + A = 0.3 x (12A + B)
Multiply throughout by 10:
120B + 10A = 3 x (12A + B)
120B + 10A = 36A + 3B
117B = 26A
B = 26A ÷ 117
Don't forget that A and B can only be integers, and between 0 and 11.
Since 26 x A has to be at least 117, the lowest possible value for A is 5. We can check the remaining possibilities.
5 x 26 = 130
6 x 26 = 156
7 x 26 = 182
8 x 26 = 208
9 x 26 = 234 (*)
10 x 26 = 260
11 x 26 = 286
The only number wholly divisible by 117 is 234, which means that A = 9, and B = 2.
Hint
The code has just four letters, A, B, C, and D. Each letter encodes 5 different letters.
Answer
I think, therefore I am.
Reasoning
A represents a, b, c, d, and e.
B represents f, g, h, i, and j.
C represents k, l, m, n, and o.
D represents p, q, r, s, and t.
E represents u, v, w, x, and y.
??
Puzzle 3
By changing the second letter of each word below, you can make another valid word.
Can you change each word such that the second letters will reveal an eleven-letter word when read downwards?
Therefore, what now reads 'awpydnucepa' will be a real word. bakeswapopaldyedidlesnowlumpacesmeltspunrant
