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WGU D278 Scripting and Programming Foundations Objective Assessment (OA)
Practice Exam 100 Questions with Verified Answers and Detailed Rationales
Western Governors University – Updated for 2026
EXAM INFORMATION SUMMARY
The WGU D278 Scripting and Programming Foundations Objective Assessment covers fundamental programming concepts essential for success in the software development program. Key topics include:
Topic AreaWeight Core Programming Concepts (variables, operators, loops, conditionals)25-30% Functions and Modularization15-20% Data Structures (lists, dictionaries, tuples, sets)15-20% Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) Basics10-15% File Handling and Exception Management10-15% Debugging, Testing, and Best Practices5-10% JSON/CSV Handling and Automation5-10%
SECTION 1: CORE PROGRAMMING CONCEPTS (Questions 1-25)
QUESTION 1
Which mode opens a file for writing, erasing its contents if it already exists? A. 'r' B. 'w' C. 'a' D. 'r+' Answer: B. 'w' Rationale: 'w' mode opens a file for writing and overwrites the existing file (truncates it) or creates a new one if it doesn't exist.
QUESTION 2 What will happen if you try to open a non-existent file using open('missing.txt', 'r')? A. It creates a new file. B. It prints "File not found." C. It raises a FileNotFoundError. D. It returns an empty string. Answer: C. It raises a FileNotFoundError
D. Compiler error types Answer: C. Rules that define the structure of valid statements Rationale: Grammar in programming refers to the syntax rules that determine how valid statements and expressions can be formed in a language.
QUESTION 5 Which operator type produces a Boolean result? A. Arithmetic operator B. Assignment operator C. Boolean operator D. Relational operator Answer: D. Relational operator Rationale: Relational operators (>, <, >=, <=, ==, !=) compare values and produce Boolean results (true/false). Boolean operators also produce Boolean results, but relational operators are the ones used for comparisons.
QUESTION 6 What is the result of the following pseudocode when starting with x = 3?
```
WHILE (x < 3) // loop body
A. Loop runs twice B. Loop runs forever C. Loop never runs D. Loop runs once Answer: C. Loop never runs Rationale: The condition `x < 3` is checked before execution. Since `x = 3`, the condition is false, so the loop body never executes. --- QUESTION 7 A loop that never ends is called a: A. Skip loop B. Short loop C. Infinite loop D. False loop Answer: C. Infinite loop D. stop Answer: C. break Rationale: The `break` statement immediately terminates the loop and transfers execution to the statement following the loop. --- QUESTION 10 What does the `continue` statement do? A. Exits the program B. Skips to the next loop iteration C. Exits the loop D. Reverses loop direction Answer: B. Skips to the next loop iteration Rationale: The `continue` statement skips the rest of the current iteration and moves directly to the next iteration of the loop. --- QUESTION 11 What is the output of the following pseudocode?
FOR i = 1 to 4 PRINT i
A. 2, 4 B. 1, 2, 3, 4 C. 4, 3, 2, 1 D. none Answer: B. 1, 2, 3, 4 Rationale: The for loop iterates with `i` taking values 1, 2, 3, and 4, printing each value in sequence. --- QUESTION 12 Which loop is ideal for input validation? A. For loop B. Do-while loop C. If-else statement D. Switch statement Answer: B. Do-while loop A. Assignment operator B. Equality operator C. Comparison operator D. Relational operator Answer: B. Equality operator Rationale: The `==` operator is the equality operator used to compare whether two values are equal. It is distinct from the assignment operator `=`. --- QUESTION 15 What term describes the result produced by a program after execution? A. Function B. Variable C. Output D. Input Answer: C. Output Rationale: Output is the data or results that a program produces after processing input. --- ## QUESTION 16 What does a Boolean value represent? A. Any numerical value B. One of three values: True, False, or Undefined C. Any textual value D. One of two values: True or False Answer: D. One of two values: True or False Rationale: Boolean values are logical values that can only be either true or false. --- QUESTION 17 Which statement correctly describes relational operators? A. Relational operators are a direct comparison of two values B. Relational operators give a Boolean result C. Relational operators are defined for all basic data types D. All of the above Answer: D. All of the above Answer: B. % Rationale: The modulo operator (%) returns the remainder of division. If `number % 5 == 0`, the number is evenly divisible by 5. --- QUESTION 20 A variable should hold the names of all past U.S. presidents. Which data type should the variable be? A. String B. Integer C. String array D. Boolean Answer: C. String array Rationale: An array of strings is appropriate for storing multiple text values like names. --- QUESTION 21 What is the loop expression in the following pseudocode?
i = 0
while i < 20 Put i to output i = i + 1
A. i B. i < 20 C. i = 0 D. i = i + 1 Answer: B. i < 20 Rationale: The loop expression is the condition evaluated each iteration to determine whether the loop should continue executing. --- QUESTION 22 What is the loop variable initialization in the following pseudocode?
y = 0 s = 100. while y < 10 s = s + (s 5.0) y = y + 1
## QUESTION 24 What does the following algorithm determine?
if x == y z = 1 else z = 0
A. Whether x and y are the same B. Whether x and y are negative C. Whether x is 1 D. Whether x is 0 Answer: A. Whether x and y are the same Rationale: The algorithm sets z to 1 if x equals y, and 0 otherwise, indicating whether the two values are identical. --- QUESTION 25 What does an output of 1 indicate for the following algorithm running on a five-element list of integers?
i = 0
x = 0 while i < 5 if list[i] < 0 x = 1 i = i + 1 Put x to output
A. All integers are positive. B. All integers are negative. C. At least one integer is negative. D. At least one integer is positive. Answer: C. At least one integer is negative Rationale: The algorithm sets x to 1 if any element in the list is negative, then outputs x. --- SECTION 2: FUNCTIONS AND MODULARIZATION (Questions 26-40) --- QUESTION 26 What is a parameter in a function? ## QUESTION 28 A function that returns no value is often called: A. Void function B. Procedure C. Both A and B D. Null function Answer: C. Both A and B Rationale: Functions that don't return values are often called void functions (in C-style languages) or procedures (in other languages). --- QUESTION 29 A function stub is: A. A completed function B. A function definition whose statements have not yet been written C. A function with too many parameters D. A recursive function Answer: B. A function definition whose statements have not yet been written Rationale: A function stub provides the function signature and return statement but contains placeholder code to be completed later. ## QUESTION 30 What is function overloading? A. Breaking code B. Multiple functions with the same name but different parameters C. Too many variables D. Recursion Answer: B. Multiple functions with the same name but different parameters Rationale: Function overloading allows multiple functions with the same name but different parameter lists to coexist, with the compiler selecting the appropriate one based on arguments . --- QUESTION 31 What is a base case in recursion? A. The first function call B. A condition that stops the recursion C. The main function D. A loop in the function
