Hover state in CSS - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to change the background color when hovering over the button.

CSS

button:hover {
  background-color: [1];
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Ablue

Bred

Cnone

Dbold

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'none' as a color value causes no visible change.

Using 'bold' is not a color and will cause an error.

The :hover selector applies styles when the mouse is over the element. Setting background-color to blue changes the button's background on hover.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to change the text color on hover for links.

CSS

a:hover {
  color: [1];
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Agreen

Bnone

Citalic

Dunderline

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'underline' or 'italic' as color values causes no effect or errors.

Using 'none' does not change the color.

The color property changes the text color. On hover, setting it to green changes the link color.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the hover selector to apply a border on hover.

CSS

div[1] {
  border: 2px solid black;
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Ahover

B:hover

C.hover

D#hover

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Omitting the colon causes the selector to fail.

Using class or ID selectors instead of the hover pseudo-class.

The correct CSS pseudo-class for hover is :hover. It must have a colon before the word.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to change the font size and add underline on hover for paragraphs.

CSS

p[1] {
  font-size: [2];
  text-decoration: underline;
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A:hover

B16px

C20px

D:active

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using ':active' instead of ':hover' changes style on click, not hover.

Choosing too small font size does not show visible change.

Use :hover to apply styles on hover. Setting font-size to 20px changes the text size when hovered.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to change the button's background, text color, and cursor on hover.

CSS

button[1] {
  background-color: [2];
  color: [3];
  cursor: pointer;
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A:hover

Bwhite

Cblack

Dblue

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Mixing up background and text colors reduces readability.

Forgetting ':hover' means styles won't apply on hover.

Use :hover to style the button on hover. Set background-color to blue and color (text color) to white for good contrast.

Practice

1. What does the CSS :hover pseudo-class do?

easy

A. It applies styles only when the element is focused by keyboard.

B. It hides an element when clicked.

C. It changes the style of an element when the mouse pointer is over it.

D. It permanently changes the style of an element after a click.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the purpose of :hover

   The :hover pseudo-class activates when the mouse pointer is over an element, changing its style temporarily.

2. Step 2: Compare options with this behavior

   Only the option "It changes the style of an element when the mouse pointer is over it." describes this temporary style change on mouse hover correctly.

3. Final Answer:

   It changes the style of an element when the mouse pointer is over it. -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   :hover changes style on mouse over [OK]

Hint: Hover means mouse is over element, triggering style change [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing :hover with :focus or :active
• Thinking :hover applies after clicking
• Assuming :hover hides elements

2. Which CSS syntax correctly applies a red background on hover to all button elements?

easy

A. button :hover { background-color: red; }

B. button:hover { background-color: red; }

C. button:hover() { background-color: red; }

D. button:hover[] { background-color: red; }

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify correct pseudo-class syntax

   The :hover pseudo-class is used without spaces or parentheses after the selector.

2. Step 2: Check each option

   button:hover { background-color: red; } uses correct syntax: button:hover { ... }. Options A, C, and D have invalid spaces or characters.

3. Final Answer:

   button:hover { background-color: red; } -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Correct pseudo-class syntax = button:hover { background-color: red; } [OK]

Hint: No spaces before :hover and no parentheses [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Adding space between selector and :hover
• Using parentheses after :hover
• Using brackets [] with :hover

3. What will be the background color of the <div> when hovered in this CSS?

div { background-color: blue; transition: background-color 0.5s; } div:hover { background-color: green; }

medium

A. Green smoothly over 0.5 seconds on hover

B. Green immediately on hover, no transition

C. Background color changes to red on hover

D. Blue, with no change on hover

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the transition property

   The transition: background-color 0.5s; means background color changes smoothly over half a second.

2. Step 2: Check hover background color

   The div:hover changes background color to green, so on hover it transitions from blue to green smoothly.

3. Final Answer:

   Green smoothly over 0.5 seconds on hover -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Transition + :hover changes color smoothly [OK]

Hint: Transition makes hover color change smooth, not instant [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Ignoring transition effect
• Expecting no color change
• Confusing color names

4. Identify the error in this CSS that prevents the hover effect from working:

a:hover { color: red background-color: yellow }

medium

A. Missing semicolon after color: red stops hover from working.

B. Cannot have two a:hover selectors in CSS.

C. Background color cannot be changed on hover.

D. Hover only works on buttons, not links.

Solution

1. Step 1: Check CSS syntax for each rule

   The rule a:hover { color: red background-color: yellow } is missing a semicolon after red, which is required to separate declarations.

2. Step 2: Understand CSS parsing behavior

   Without the semicolon between declarations, the browser ignores invalid properties or the entire rule, breaking the hover effect.

3. Final Answer:

   Missing semicolon after color: red stops hover from working. -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Always end CSS declarations with semicolon [OK]

Hint: Always put semicolon after each CSS property [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking multiple :hover selectors cause error
• Believing background-color can't change on hover
• Assuming hover only works on buttons

5. You want a button to smoothly change text color to white and background to blue on hover, but only if the button is enabled (not disabled). Which CSS selector correctly targets this?

hard

A. button[enabled]:hover { color: white; background-color: blue; transition: 0.3s; }

B. button:hover :enabled { color: white; background-color: blue; transition: 0.3s; }

C. button:hover[enabled] { color: white; background-color: blue; transition: 0.3s; }

D. button:enabled:hover { color: white; background-color: blue; transition: 0.3s; }

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the order of pseudo-classes

   The :enabled pseudo-class filters enabled buttons, and :hover applies when mouse is over the element.

2. Step 2: Check correct selector syntax

   button:enabled:hover { color: white; background-color: blue; transition: 0.3s; } uses button:enabled:hover, which is valid and applies styles only when button is enabled and hovered.

3. Step 3: Identify errors in other options

   button:hover :enabled { color: white; background-color: blue; transition: 0.3s; } includes an invalid space after :hover, selecting :enabled descendants of hovered buttons rather than the button itself. Options C and D use invalid attribute selectors for enabled state.

4. Final Answer:

   button:enabled:hover { color: white; background-color: blue; transition: 0.3s; } -> Option D

5. Quick Check:

   Use :enabled before :hover for correct targeting [OK]

Hint: Put :enabled before :hover to target enabled hovered buttons [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using attribute selectors instead of :enabled
• Adding space between :hover and :enabled
• Forgetting transition for smooth effect