A cipher that replaces plaintext symbols with other symbols.

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Multiple Choice

A cipher that replaces plaintext symbols with other symbols.

Substitution is about replacing each plaintext symbol with a different symbol to produce ciphertext. In a substitution cipher, there is a fixed mapping from plaintext characters to ciphertext characters, so every symbol in the message is replaced by one other symbol, keeping the length the same. This contrasts with a transposition cipher, which reorders the same symbols without changing them. A Caesar cipher is a specific substitution that shifts every letter by a fixed amount, while a polyalphabetic cipher uses multiple substitution alphabets to vary the mapping. So describing a cipher that replaces plaintext symbols with other symbols points to substitution cipher as the correct idea.

Substitution is about replacing each plaintext symbol with a different symbol to produce ciphertext. In a substitution cipher, there is a fixed mapping from plaintext characters to ciphertext characters, so every symbol in the message is replaced by one other symbol, keeping the length the same. This contrasts with a transposition cipher, which reorders the same symbols without changing them. A Caesar cipher is a specific substitution that shifts every letter by a fixed amount, while a polyalphabetic cipher uses multiple substitution alphabets to vary the mapping. So describing a cipher that replaces plaintext symbols with other symbols points to substitution cipher as the correct idea.

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