PCEP Practice Question: Data Types, Variables, Basic I/O and Operators
A developer wants to output a variable price with two decimal places using formatting. Which line of code will produce 'Price: $12.50' for price = 12.5?
⚠ Common exam trap
Python Institute often tests the difference between `round()` (which returns a float and may not add trailing zeros) and format specifiers (which control string representation), leading candidates to mistakenly choose Option C thinking it produces two decimal places.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
print(f'Price: ${price:.2f}')
It uses an f-string with the format specifier `:.2f`, which formats the float `12.5` as a string with exactly two decimal places, producing '12.50'. The f-string then interpolates this into the full string 'Price: $12.50'.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
print('Price: $' + price)
Why it's wrong here
TypeError: cannot concatenate str and float.
- ✓
print(f'Price: ${price:.2f}')
Why this is correct
Correct: f-string with .2f formats to two decimals.
- ✗
print('Price: $' + str(round(price, 2)))
Why it's wrong here
For 12.5, this gives 'Price: $12.5', missing trailing zero.
- ✗
print('Price: $%s' % price)
Why it's wrong here
Uses %s which converts to string but no decimal control.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PCEP practice question is part of Courseiva's free Python Institute certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the PCEP exam.