Bitwise AND, OR, XOR in C - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

❓ Predict Output

intermediate

Output of Bitwise AND Operation

What is the output of the following C code snippet?

C

int a = 12;  // binary: 1100
int b = 10;  // binary: 1010
int c = a & b;
printf("%d", c);

A 2

B 8

C 10

D 4

💡 Hint

Remember that bitwise AND compares each bit of two numbers and returns 1 only if both bits are 1.

12 in binary is 1100, 10 in binary is 1010. Bitwise AND compares bits: 1100 & 1010 = 1000 (binary), which is 8 decimal.

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intermediate

Output of Bitwise OR Operation

What is the output of this C code?

C

int x = 5;  // binary: 0101
int y = 3;  // binary: 0011
int z = x | y;
printf("%d", z);

A 7

B 1

C 6

D 8

💡 Hint

Bitwise OR returns 1 if either bit is 1.

5 is 0101, 3 is 0011. OR operation: 0101 | 0011 = 0111 which is 7 decimal.

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advanced

Output of Bitwise XOR Operation

What will this C program print?

C

int a = 9;  // binary: 1001
int b = 14; // binary: 1110
int c = a ^ b;
printf("%d", c);

A 7

B 15

C 5

D 3

💡 Hint

XOR returns 1 only if bits differ.

9 is 1001, 14 is 1110. XOR: 1001 ^ 1110 = 0111 which is 7 decimal.

❓ Predict Output

advanced

Result of Combined Bitwise Operations

What is the output of this code?

C

int a = 6;  // binary: 0110
int b = 11; // binary: 1011
int c = (a & b) | (a ^ b);
printf("%d", c);

A 7

B 9

C 5

D 15

💡 Hint

Calculate AND and XOR separately, then OR the results.

a & b = 0110 & 1011 = 0010 (2), a ^ b = 0110 ^ 1011 = 1101 (13), OR: 0010 | 1101 = 1111 (15).

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expert

Bitwise Operation with Negative Numbers

What is the output of this C code snippet?

C

int a = -5;  // in two's complement
int b = 3;
int c = a & b;
printf("%d", c);

A 1

B 0

C 3

D -5

💡 Hint

Remember how negative numbers are stored in two's complement and how bitwise AND works.

In two's complement (e.g., low 8 bits: -5 is 11111011, 3 is 00000011). Bitwise AND: 11111011 & 00000011 = 00000011 which is 3.