Ternary operator in Javascript - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Using the Ternary Operator in JavaScript

📖 Scenario: You are creating a simple program to check if a person is old enough to vote. Voting age is 18 years or older.

🎯 Goal: Build a program that uses the ternary operator to decide if a person can vote based on their age.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a variable called age with a specific number value.

Create a variable called votingAge and set it to 18.

Use the ternary operator with age and votingAge to create a variable canVote that holds the string 'Yes' or 'No'.

Print the value of canVote.

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Checking age eligibility is common in many apps like voting, driving licenses, or age-restricted content.

💼 Career

Understanding the ternary operator helps write clean and concise code, a useful skill for any developer.

1

Set the person's age

Create a variable called age and set it to 20.

Javascript

// Your code here

Hint

Use const age = 20; to create the variable.

2

Set the voting age limit

Create a variable called votingAge and set it to 18.

Javascript

const age = 20;
// Your code here

Hint

Use const votingAge = 18; to set the voting age.

3

Use the ternary operator to check voting eligibility

Create a variable called canVote that uses the ternary operator to check if age is greater than or equal to votingAge. If yes, set canVote to 'Yes', otherwise 'No'.

Javascript

const age = 20;
const votingAge = 18;
// Your code here

Hint

Use the ternary operator like this: condition ? valueIfTrue : valueIfFalse.

4

Print the voting eligibility

Write a console.log statement to print the value of canVote.

Javascript

const age = 20;
const votingAge = 18;
const canVote = age >= votingAge ? 'Yes' : 'No';
// Your code here

Hint

Use console.log(canVote); to show the result.

Practice

1. What does the ternary operator condition ? expr1 : expr2 do in JavaScript?

easy

A. Executes both expr1 and expr2 and returns their sum.

B. Always returns expr2 regardless of the condition.

C. Throws an error if condition is false.

D. Returns expr1 if condition is true, otherwise returns expr2.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the ternary operator structure

   The ternary operator has the form condition ? expr1 : expr2. It checks the condition.

2. Step 2: Determine the returned value based on the condition

   If the condition is true, it returns expr1. Otherwise, it returns expr2.

3. Final Answer:

   Returns expr1 if condition is true, else expr2 -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   condition ? expr1 : expr2 = expr1 or expr2 [OK]

Hint: Remember: condition ? trueValue : falseValue [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking both expressions run always
• Confusing the order of expr1 and expr2
• Assuming it throws error on false condition

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax for using the ternary operator in JavaScript?

easy

A. condition ? expr1 : expr2;

B. condition ? expr1, expr2;

C. condition : expr1 ? expr2;

D. condition ? (expr1 : expr2);

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall the ternary operator syntax

   The correct syntax is condition ? expr1 : expr2 with a question mark and colon separating parts.

2. Step 2: Check each option for correct punctuation

   condition ? expr1 : expr2; matches the correct syntax. Options B, C, and D misuse commas, colons, or parentheses.

3. Final Answer:

   condition ? expr1 : expr2; -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Syntax is condition ? expr1 : expr2 [OK]

Hint: Look for ? and : in correct order with no extra symbols [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using commas instead of colon
• Swapping ? and :
• Adding unnecessary parentheses

3. What is the output of this code?

const age = 20;
const canVote = age >= 18 ? 'Yes' : 'No';
console.log(canVote);

medium

A. 'No'

B. 'Yes'

C. true

D. undefined

Solution

1. Step 1: Evaluate the condition age >= 18

   Since age is 20, which is greater than or equal to 18, the condition is true.

2. Step 2: Determine the value assigned to canVote

   Because the condition is true, canVote is assigned the string 'Yes'.

3. Final Answer:

   'Yes' -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   20 >= 18 ? 'Yes' : 'No' = 'Yes' [OK]

Hint: Check condition result true or false to pick value [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing true and false branches
• Thinking it returns boolean true/false
• Ignoring the condition value

4. Find the error in this code snippet:

let score = 85;
let grade = score > 90 ? 'A' : score > 80 ? 'B' : 'C';
console.log(grade);

medium

A. The code is correct and will output 'B'.

B. Incorrect use of multiple ternary operators is not allowed.

C. Missing parentheses around nested ternary expressions.

D. The variable grade is not declared properly.

Solution

1. Step 1: Analyze the nested ternary expression

   The expression uses nested ternary operators without parentheses, which is allowed in JavaScript.

2. Step 2: Evaluate the condition with score = 85

   First condition score > 90 is false, so it checks score > 80, which is true, so grade is 'B'.

3. Final Answer:

   The code is correct and will output 'B'. -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Nested ternary without parentheses works [OK]

Hint: Nested ternary operators can be used without parentheses [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming nested ternary needs parentheses
• Thinking multiple ternaries are invalid syntax
• Confusing variable declaration errors

5. You want to assign a variable status based on a number score: if score is 0 or less, status should be 'Fail'; if between 1 and 50, 'Pass'; otherwise 'Excellent'. Which ternary expression correctly does this?

hard

A. const status = score <= 0 ? 'Fail' : (score > 50 ? 'Pass' : 'Excellent');

B. const status = score < 0 ? 'Fail' : score < 50 ? 'Pass' : 'Excellent';

C. const status = score <= 0 ? 'Fail' : score <= 50 ? 'Pass' : 'Excellent';

D. const status = score === 0 ? 'Fail' : score < 50 ? 'Pass' : 'Excellent';

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the conditions for status

   score <= 0 means 'Fail', between 1 and 50 means 'Pass', and above 50 means 'Excellent'.

2. Step 2: Check each option against these conditions

   const status = score <= 0 ? 'Fail' : score <= 50 ? 'Pass' : 'Excellent'; correctly checks score <= 0 for 'Fail', then score <= 50 for 'Pass', else 'Excellent'. Others have wrong ranges or conditions.

3. Final Answer:

   const status = score <= 0 ? 'Fail' : score <= 50 ? 'Pass' : 'Excellent'; -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Correct ranges and order in ternary [OK]

Hint: Check conditions cover all ranges without gaps [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using wrong comparison operators
• Missing equal signs causing wrong ranges
• Incorrect order of conditions