PCEP Practice Test 3 — 25 Questions

Question 1

Which TWO of the following are valid dictionary methods? (Select two.)

Accepted Answer

keys(). The `keys()` method returns a view object displaying all keys in a dictionary, and `values()` returns a view object of all values. Both are built-in dictionary methods in Python, making them valid for the PCEP exam.

Answer

keyset()

Answer

entries()

Answer

pairs()

Question 2

What is the output of the following code?

def test():
    try:
        return 1
    finally:
        return 2

print(test())

Accepted Answer

2. In Python, a `finally` block always executes, and if both `try` and `finally` contain `return` statements, the `return` in `finally` overrides the one in `try`. The function `test()` returns 2, not 1, because the `finally` block's return value is the one that is actually used.

Answer

None

Answer

Error

Answer

1

Question 3

A programmer wants to iterate over a list of strings and print each string in uppercase. Which of the following code snippets will accomplish this?

Accepted Answer

for item in my_list: print(item.upper()). It correctly calls the `upper()` method on each string `item` in the list `my_list` and prints the result. The `upper()` method returns a new string with all characters converted to uppercase, and the `print()` function outputs that value to the console.

Answer

for item in my_list: print(item.upper)

Answer

for item in my_list: item.upper() print(item)

Answer

for i in my_list: print(my_list[i].upper())

Question 4

Given the code:
x = [1, 2, 3]
y = x
y.append(4)
print(x)
What is the output?

Accepted Answer

[1, 2, 3, 4]. In Python, variables hold references to objects, not the objects themselves. When `y = x` is executed, both `x` and `y` point to the same list object in memory. The `y.append(4)` method modifies that shared list in-place, so the change is reflected when `x` is printed, outputting `[1, 2, 3, 4]`.

Answer

Error

Answer

[1, 2, 3]

Answer

[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Question 5

Order the steps to define and call a function in Python.

Accepted Answer

1. Define function using def keyword, 2. Optionally specify parameters in parentheses, 3. Write the indented function body, 4. Call the function by its name.. Function definition starts with def, then the body, parameters are optional, and calling the function executes it.

Answer

1. Write the indented function body, 2. Define function using def keyword, 3. Optionally specify parameters in parentheses, 4. Call the function by its name.

Answer

1. Define function using def keyword, 2. Write the indented function body, 3. Optionally specify parameters in parentheses, 4. Call the function by its name.

Answer

1. Call the function by its name, 2. Define function using def keyword, 3. Optionally specify parameters in parentheses, 4. Write the indented function body.

Question 6

What is the scope of a variable defined inside a function?

Accepted Answer

Local. In Python, any variable assigned inside a function (without global or nonlocal declarations) has local scope. This means it is only accessible within that function's block and is destroyed when the function returns, as per Python's LEGB (Local, Enclosing, Global, Built-in) rule.

Answer

Global

Answer

Built-in

Answer

Nonlocal

Question 7

Match each Python control flow statement to its purpose.

Accepted Answer

break: Exits the loop immediately.. The correct matches: break exits the loop, continue skips to next iteration, pass does nothing, else runs after normal loop completion. Common confusions include swapping break and continue, or confusing else with pass.

Answer

break: Skips the rest of the current iteration and moves to the next.

Answer

else (in loop): Does nothing; used as a placeholder.

Question 8

Which THREE of the following are valid list operations?

Accepted Answer

my_list.extend([5,6]). Option B, my_list.extend([5,6]), is valid because Python lists provide the extend() method, which appends each element of the given iterable to the end of the list, so [5,6] adds two separate items. Option D, my_list.insert(0,5), is valid because insert(index, value) is a standard list method that places the value 5 at index 0, shifting existing elements to the right. Option E, my_list.append(5), is valid because append() is the canonical list method for adding a single element to the end of the list. Option A, my_list.add(5), is not a list operation; add() belongs to set objects, not lists. Option C, my_list.push(5), is not a Python list method; push() is associated with stack-like structures in other languages (e.g., JavaScript arrays), whereas Python lists use append().

Answer

my_list.add(5)

Answer

my_list.push(5)

Question 9

What is the output when the following code is executed?

try:
    print(1/0)
except ZeroDivisionError:
    print("Cannot divide by zero")

Accepted Answer

Cannot divide by zero. The code inside the try block attempts to divide by zero, which raises a ZeroDivisionError. The except block catches this exception and executes its print statement, outputting 'Cannot divide by zero'.

Answer

The program crashes with an unhandled exception

Answer

Result: 0

Answer

Unsupported operand

Question 10

Refer to the exhibit. What is the output of the code?

Accepted Answer

1 2 4 5. The code uses a for loop with range(1,6) to iterate over numbers 1 through 5. Inside the loop, an if statement checks if the current number equals 3; if true, the continue statement skips the print(i) for that iteration. Thus, when i is 3, the print is skipped, so the output is '1 2 4 5'. Option B is correct because it matches this output.

Answer

0 1 2 4 5

Answer

1 2 3 4 5

Answer

2 4 5

Question 11

Which THREE of the following statements about Python operators are true?

Accepted Answer

The not operator is a logical operator that negates a condition.. Option A is correct because 'not' is Python's logical negation operator, returning True for a falsy operand and False for a truthy one, so it negates a condition. Option B is correct because '//' performs floor division, dividing operands and rounding the result down to the nearest integer (e.g., 7 // 2 == 3, and -7 // 2 == -4). Option E is correct because '%' is the modulo operator, returning the remainder of integer or float division (e.g., 7 % 3 == 1). Option C is wrong because '**' is the exponentiation (power) operator, while bitwise XOR is '^'. Option D is wrong because '/' performs true division in Python 3 and always returns a float, even when both operands are integers (e.g., 4 / 2 == 2.0).

Answer

The ** operator is the bitwise XOR operator.

Answer

The / operator always returns an integer if both operands are integers.

Question 12

A developer writes a script to read user input using input() and then prints it. However, the program crashes when the user enters a number. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The input is read as a string, but the code treats it as a number without conversion.. The `input()` function in Python 3 always returns a string, regardless of what the user types. If the user enters a number, the program may crash if the code later performs an operation (like arithmetic or comparison) on that string without first converting it to an integer or float using `int()` or `float()`. This mismatch between the string type and the expected numeric type causes a `TypeError`.

Answer

The script uses Python 2, where input() evaluates input as code.

Answer

The print() function expects a string, but the input is a number.

Answer

The input() function cannot handle numeric input.

Question 13

A developer wants to generate a list of squares of integers from 1 to 10 inclusive. Which list comprehension is correct?

Accepted Answer

[x**2 for x in range(1, 11)]. `range(1, 11)` generates integers from 1 to 10 inclusive, and the list comprehension `[x**2 for x in range(1, 11)]` squares each integer, producing the desired list of squares. The `range()` function's stop value is exclusive, so `range(1, 11)` stops at 10, covering all numbers from 1 to 10.

Answer

[x**2 for x in range(11)]

Answer

[x**2 for x in range(10)]

Answer

[x**2 for x in range(1, 10)]

Question 14

A programmer needs to store configuration settings keyed by string, where each key maps to a list of allowed values. Which data structure is most appropriate?

Accepted Answer

A dictionary where keys are strings and values are lists.. A dictionary in Python provides direct key-to-value mapping, making it ideal for storing configuration settings where each string key must map to a list of allowed values. Dictionaries offer O(1) average-time complexity for lookups, which is efficient for retrieving the list of values for a given key. This structure directly models the requirement without unnecessary nesting or indirection.

Answer

A tuple of lists where each list starts with the key.

Answer

A list of tuples where each tuple contains a key and a list of values.

Answer

A set of strings representing the keys, with a separate list for values.

Question 15

A list of numbers is defined as nums = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Which expression returns the last element?

Accepted Answer

nums[-1]. Python uses zero-based indexing, so the first element is at index 0 and the last element is at index -1. Negative indices count from the end of the list, so nums[-1] directly accesses the last element (5) without needing to know the list length.

Answer

nums[5]

Answer

nums[0]

Answer

nums[-2]

Question 16

Which data type is the result of: value = 10 // 3?

Accepted Answer

int. The // operator in Python performs floor division, which divides the left operand by the right operand and returns the largest integer less than or equal to the result. Since both 10 and 3 are integers, the result is an integer (3), not a float. Therefore, the data type of value is int.

Answer

float

Answer

str

Answer

bool

Question 17

What is the result of the expression: (1 and 0) or (not False and True)?

Accepted Answer

True. 1 and 0 evaluates to 0 (falsy). not False evaluates to True, so not False and True evaluates to True. 0 or True evaluates to True (the last truthy value).

Answer

False

Answer

0

Answer

1

Question 18

Refer to the exhibit. What is the output when the code is executed?

Accepted Answer

2 2 2. The code defines a tuple `t = (0, 1, 2)`. The `for` loop iterates over the tuple, but each iteration prints `t[2]`, which is the third element (index 2) with value 2. Since the value is constant, it prints '2' three times. Hence the output is '2 2 2'.

Answer

0 1 2

Answer

0 0 0

Answer

3 3 3

Question 19

Which TWO of the following expressions evaluate to True in Python? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

1 == True. Option A (1 == True) is correct because Python's bool is a subclass of int, so True has the integer value 1 and the equality comparison returns True. Option B (0 == False) is correct for the same reason: False has the integer value 0, so comparing it to 0 yields True. Option C ('0' == 0) is not correct because a str and an int are different types and are never equal in Python. Option D (2 == True) is not correct because True equals 1, not 2. Option E (None == False) is not correct because None is a distinct object that is only equal to None, not to False.

Answer

'0' == 0

Answer

2 == True

Answer

None == False

Question 20

What is the output of the following dictionary comprehension?

{x: x**2 for x in range(3)}

Accepted Answer

{0:0, 1:1, 2:4}. The dictionary comprehension `{x: x**2 for x in range(3)}` iterates over `x` values 0, 1, and 2 (from `range(3)`). For each `x`, it creates a key-value pair where the key is `x` and the value is `x**2` (x squared). This produces `{0: 0**2, 1: 1**2, 2: 2**2}`, which evaluates to `{0:0, 1:1, 2:4}`.

Answer

{0:1, 1:2, 2:3}

Answer

{0:0, 1:2, 2:4}

Answer

{1:1, 2:4}