Copying, moving, and deleting files in Intro to Computing - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

🧠 Conceptual

intermediate

Understanding file operations: Copy vs Move

Imagine you have a file named report.txt in your Documents folder. You want to organize your files by putting report.txt into a folder named Work.

Which of the following best describes the difference between copying and moving this file?

A Copying renames the file in Documents; moving creates a shortcut in Work without changing the original.

B Copying deletes the original file and creates a new one in Work; moving duplicates the file in both folders.

C Copying duplicates the file into the Work folder and keeps the original in Documents; moving transfers the file to Work and removes it from Documents.

D Copying compresses the file before placing it in Work; moving encrypts the file in Documents.

💡 Hint

Think about whether the original file stays where it is after the operation.

Copying creates a duplicate file in the new location while keeping the original file unchanged. Moving transfers the file to the new location and removes it from the original place.

❓ trace

intermediate

Trace the result of deleting a file

Consider this sequence of actions on a computer:

1. Create a file named data.csv in the Downloads folder.
2. Move data.csv to the Desktop.
3. Delete data.csv from the Desktop.

What is the state of data.csv after these steps?

A <code>data.csv</code> no longer exists on the computer.

B <code>data.csv</code> exists only on the Desktop.

C <code>data.csv</code> exists only in Downloads.

D <code>data.csv</code> exists in both Downloads and Desktop.

💡 Hint

Remember what happens to a file when you delete it from its current location.

Moving the file transfers it from Downloads to Desktop, so it no longer exists in Downloads. Deleting it from Desktop removes it completely from the computer.

❓ Comparison

advanced

Comparing file operation commands

Below are four command-line instructions for copying a file named notes.txt from the folder Projects to Archives. Which command correctly copies the file without deleting the original?

A copy Projects/notes.txt Archives/ && rm Projects/notes.txt

B cp Projects/notes.txt Archives/

C rm Projects/notes.txt && cp Projects/notes.txt Archives/

D mv Projects/notes.txt Archives/

💡 Hint

Recall which command is used to copy files and which is used to move or delete.

cp copies the file keeping the original intact. mv moves (copies then deletes original). rm deletes files. Commands combining rm and cp may fail if the file is deleted before copying.

❓ identification

advanced

Identify the error in file deletion command

Which of the following commands will cause an error when trying to delete a file named summary.docx?

A Remove-Item summary.docx

B rm summary.docx

C del summary.docx

D delete summary.docx

💡 Hint

Consider common commands used in Windows, Linux, and PowerShell.

delete is not a valid command in common shells. del works in Windows CMD, rm in Linux/Unix shells, and Remove-Item in PowerShell.

🚀 Application

expert

Predict the final file locations after multiple operations

Given the following sequence of file operations:

1. Copy image.png from Pictures to Backup.
2. Move image.png from Pictures to Work.
3. Delete image.png from Backup.

Where does image.png exist after these steps?

A Only in the Work folder.

B In both Work and Backup folders.

C Only in the Backup folder.

D No longer exists anywhere.

💡 Hint

Trace each step carefully and consider what happens to the file in each folder.

Step 1 copies the file to Backup (original remains in Pictures). Step 2 moves the original from Pictures to Work (so Pictures no longer has it). Step 3 deletes the copy in Backup. Final location is only Work.