Ternary operator in PHP - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

❓ Predict Output

intermediate

What is the output of this PHP code using ternary operator?

Consider the following PHP code snippet. What will it output?

PHP

<?php
$score = 75;
$result = $score >= 60 ? 'Pass' : 'Fail';
echo $result;
?>

A Error

B Fail

C 75

D Pass

💡 Hint

Check the condition before the question mark and what happens if true or false.

The condition $score >= 60 is true because 75 is greater than 60, so the expression returns 'Pass'.

❓ Predict Output

intermediate

What does this nested ternary operator output?

Analyze the output of this PHP code with nested ternary operators.

PHP

<?php
$age = 20;
$status = $age < 13 ? 'Child' : ($age < 20 ? 'Teen' : 'Adult');
echo $status;
?>

A Adult

B Teen

C Child

D Error

💡 Hint

Check each condition from left to right carefully.

Since 20 is not less than 13 and not less than 20, the last option 'Adult' is chosen.

🔧 Debug

advanced

What error does this PHP ternary code produce?

Identify the error caused by this PHP code snippet.

PHP

<?php
$value = 10;
$result = $value > 5 ? 'High' 'Low';
echo $result;
?>

A Parse error: syntax error

B Outputs 'HighLow'

C Outputs 'High'

D Undefined variable error

💡 Hint

Check the syntax around the ternary operator carefully.

The ternary operator requires a colon ':' between the true and false expressions. Missing colon causes syntax error.

❓ Predict Output

advanced

What is the output of this PHP code with ternary and assignment?

What will this PHP code print?

PHP

<?php
$a = 0;
$b = $a ?: 5;
echo $b;
?>

A 0

B Error

C 5

D null

💡 Hint

The ?: operator returns the left value if it is truthy, otherwise the right value.

Since 0 is considered false in PHP, $b gets assigned 5.

🧠 Conceptual

expert

How many items are in the resulting array after this PHP code?

What is the count of elements in the array produced by this code?

PHP

<?php
$array = [
  'a' => 1,
  'b' => 2,
  'c' => 3
];
$result = [];
foreach ($array as $key => $value) {
  $result[$key] = $value > 1 ? $value * 2 : $value;
}
echo count($result);
?>

A 2

B 3

C 1

D 0

💡 Hint

The foreach loop adds one element per original array item.

The loop runs 3 times, adding 3 elements to $result regardless of ternary outcome.