PCEP-30-02 Exam — Questions and Answers

Question 1: What does this code print? primes = [2, 3, 5] for p in primes: if p > 4: break else: print('all small') print('checked')

all small
Error
all small checked
checked (Correct answer)

Correct answer: checked

p==5 satisfies p>4, triggering break, so the else is skipped and only 'checked' is printed.

Question 2: What is the output of this code? try: raise TypeError('bad type') except ValueError: print('V') except TypeError: print('T') except Exception: print('E')

T E
V
T (Correct answer)
E

Correct answer: T

Python matches exceptions to the first matching `except` clause; `TypeError` matches the second handler, so 'T' is printed.

Question 3: What does len([1, [2, 3], 4]) return in Python?

4
3 (Correct answer)
5
2

Correct answer: 3

len() counts only the top-level elements; the list has 3 items: 1, [2, 3], and 4.

Question 4: What is the output of the following code? for i in range(3): if i == 1: continue print(i)

1 2
0 2 (Correct answer)
0 1 2
0 1

Correct answer: 0 2

The `continue` statement skips the rest of the loop body when `i == 1`, so 1 is never printed.

Question 5: What is the output? def f(): global z z = 99 f() print(z)

Error
99 (Correct answer)
None
0

Correct answer: 99

f() creates global z = 99, so it is accessible at module level after the call.

Question 6: What is the result of running this code? ```python a = 10 def func(a): a = 5 return a print(func(a)) print(a) ```

5 5
10 10
10 5
5 10 (Correct answer)

Correct answer: 5 10

The `a` in `func(a)` is a function parameter, which is a local variable. When `func(a)` is called, the value of the global `a` (10) is passed to the local `a`. Inside the function, this local `a` is changed to 5 and returned. The global `a` is never modified.

Question 7: In Python, what does the expression `x & (x - 1)` do when x is a power of 2?

Returns x
Returns x+1
Returns x-1
Returns 0 (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Returns 0

For a power of 2, subtracting 1 flips the trailing bit; ANDing then clears the only set bit, yielding 0.

Question 8: What is the output of the following? def f(x, y=2): return x * y print(f(3))

Error
2
3
6 (Correct answer)

Correct answer: 6

With only one argument provided, `y` defaults to 2, so `f(3)` computes `3 * 2 = 6`.

Question 9: What is the output of `my_list = [1,2,3]; my_list.extend([4,5]); print(my_list)`?

[[1, 2, 3], [4, 5]]
[1, 2, 3, [4, 5]]
[1, 2, 3, 4, 5] (Correct answer)
Error

Correct answer: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

`extend()` adds each element of the iterable individually to the list.

Question 10: Which string method returns `True` if all characters in the string are alphabetic?

isdigit()
isspace()
isalnum()
isalpha() (Correct answer)

Correct answer: isalpha()

`isalpha()` returns `True` only when every character in the string is a letter.

Question 11: How many times does the following loop execute? i = 0 while i < 5: i += 2

2
3 (Correct answer)
4
5

Correct answer: 3

i takes values 0, 2, 4 before i becomes 6 which fails the condition, so the loop runs 3 times.

Question 12: What is the result of `{1, 2, 3} & {2, 3, 4}`?

{2, 3} (Correct answer)
{1, 2, 3, 4}
Error
{1, 4}

Correct answer: {2, 3}

The `&` operator returns the intersection — elements common to both sets.

Question 13: What is the decimal value of `0b0101 | 0b1010`?

10
0
5
15 (Correct answer)

Correct answer: 15

0101 | 1010 = 1111 in binary, which equals 15 in decimal.

Question 14: Which call produces the output `Hello World` (no newline at the end)?

print('Hello World', end='')
print('Hello', 'World', end='')
Both A and C (Correct answer)
print('Hello World', sep='')

Correct answer: Both A and C

Both `print('Hello World', end='')` and `print('Hello', 'World', end='')` suppress the newline (the latter also uses default `sep=' '`).

Question 15: Which method replaces all occurrences of a substring in a string?

replace() (Correct answer)
swap()
change()
sub()

Correct answer: replace()

`replace(old, new)` returns a new string with all occurrences of `old` replaced by `new`.

Question 16: What happens when you try to change a value in a tuple?

The tuple is converted to a list
A TypeError is raised (Correct answer)
The value is updated
A ValueError is raised

Correct answer: A TypeError is raised

Tuples are immutable; attempting to assign to an index raises a TypeError.

Question 17: What does `True or False and False` evaluate to?

None
False
Error
True (Correct answer)

Correct answer: True

`and` has higher precedence than `or`, so `False and False` is evaluated first (False), then `True or False` equals True.

Question 18: What is the output of `print(bin(10 >> 1))`?

0b100
0b1010
0b101 (Correct answer)
0b10100

Correct answer: 0b101

10 in binary is 1010; shifting right by 1 gives 0101, which is 5, printed as 0b101.

Question 19: What is the result of the bitwise XOR operation `13 ^ 7`?

10 (Correct answer)
8
6
15

Correct answer: 10

The binary representation of 13 is `1101` and for 7 is `0111`. The bitwise XOR (`^`) operation compares each bit and returns 1 only if the bits are different. Comparing `1101` and `0111` results in `1010`, which is the decimal number 10.

Question 20: Which of the following creates an empty set?

()
{}
[]
set() (Correct answer)

Correct answer: set()

`{}` creates an empty dict, so `set()` is the only way to create an empty set.

Question 21: Which operator has the highest precedence in Python?

** (Correct answer)
*
+
not

Correct answer: **

The exponentiation operator `**` has the highest precedence among arithmetic operators in Python.

Question 22: What is the output of the following code? ```python value = 1 def change_value(): print(value) change_value() ```

An UnboundLocalError occurs.
1 (Correct answer)
None
A NameError occurs.

Correct answer: 1

Functions can read or access global variables without needing the `global` keyword. The `global` keyword is only required when you need to modify or assign a new value to the global variable from within the function.

Question 23: What is the output of `a = [1, 2]; b = a; b.append(3); print(a)`?

[1, 2, 3] (Correct answer)
Error
[3]
[1, 2]

Correct answer: [1, 2, 3]

Both `a` and `b` reference the same list object, so mutating `b` also changes `a`.

Question 24: What is the output of the following expression? `print(10 // 3 % 2)`

1.5
3
0
1 (Correct answer)

Correct answer: 1

The floor division (`//`) and modulo (`%`) operators have the same precedence and are evaluated from left to right. First, `10 // 3` is calculated, which results in 3. Then, `3 % 2` is calculated, which results in 1.

Question 25: What is the return value of len("Python")?

8
7
5
6 (Correct answer)

Correct answer: 6

len() counts characters in the string; "Python" has exactly 6 characters: P, y, t, h, o, n.

Question 26: What kind of error will this code produce? ```python count = 0 def increment(): count = count + 1 increment() ```

NameError
UnboundLocalError (Correct answer)
TypeError
No error, the code runs fine.

Correct answer: UnboundLocalError

This code causes an `UnboundLocalError`. When you assign to a variable in a scope (e.g., `count = ...`), Python treats it as a local variable for the entire scope. Therefore, when it tries to read `count` on the right side of the expression, it sees a local variable that hasn't been assigned a value yet.

Question 27: What is the result of `str(42)`?

42
Error
42.0
'42' (Correct answer)

Correct answer: '42'

`str()` converts an integer to its string representation, resulting in the string '42'.

Question 28: Which of the following has the LOWEST precedence in Python?

and
==
or (Correct answer)
not

Correct answer: or

Among logical operators and comparisons, `or` has the lowest precedence, evaluated last.

Question 29: What will the following code print? x = 10 def foo(): x = 20 foo() print(x)

None
20
10 (Correct answer)
Error

Correct answer: 10

The assignment inside foo() creates a local variable; the global x remains 10.

Question 30: Is it valid Python syntax to have an `else` block on both an inner and outer `for` loop?

No, only one else per function
Yes, but only the outer else can contain break
Yes, each loop can have its own else block (Correct answer)
No, nested loops cannot have else

Correct answer: Yes, each loop can have its own else block

Each for or while loop can independently have its own else block; nesting does not restrict this.

PCEP-30-02 Exam

The PCEP – Certified Entry-Level Python Programmer certification validates foundational knowledge of Python programming, including data types, control flow, data collections, functions, and exceptions.

Questions

40 min

Time Limit

70%

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