Computer Science – Unit name – Section number

Encryption - Learning Activities

Activity 1

Complete the following text by filling the gaps.

Encryption is the process of obtaining _____________ from

_____________. Before the text is encrypted, the understandable text (in
English) is normally referred to as _____________ once it is
_____________ it is referred to as ciphertext.

The encryption process requires two inputs, the _____________ and the
_____________.

The decryption process also requires two inputs, the _____________ and
the _____________. In order to output the _____________ equivalent to
the _____________.

The process of encryption and decryption is called the _____________ or

_____________.

The _____________ cipher is one of the earliest on record. It is credited to

Julius Caesar, who used it to send secret messages to his armies. The
_____________ shifts each letter of the plaintext by an amount specified
by the key. For example, if the key is 3, each letter is shifted by 3 places to
the right.

(The activity 2 is on the next page)

Activity 2

Computer Science - Bartholomew School

Computer Science – Unit name – Section number

Note: You need to use the cipher wheel to complete activity 2 and activity
3 >>> link

Convert the following plaintext message using the Caesar cipher and a key
of 7 to the right.

THE SUN HAS GOT ITS HAT ON

Activity 3

Decrypt the following ciphertext which is produced using Caesar’s cipher

and a key of 5 to the right:

MNU MNU MTTWFD

Activity 4

Explain the three weaknesses of the Caesar cipher.

1.

2.

3.

(This is the end of the activities in this document)

Computer Science - Bartholomew School