Break and continue in PowerShell - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to stop the loop when the number is 5.

PowerShell

foreach ($i in 1..10) {
    if ($i -eq 5) {
        [1]
    }
    Write-Output $i
}

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

Abreak

Bcontinue

Cexit

Dstop

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'continue' instead of 'break' will skip the current iteration but not stop the loop.

The break statement stops the loop immediately when the condition is met.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to skip printing the number 3 but continue the loop.

PowerShell

foreach ($i in 1..5) {
    if ($i -eq 3) {
        [1]
    }
    Write-Output $i
}

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

Abreak

Bexit

Cskip

Dcontinue

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'break' will stop the loop entirely, not just skip one number.

The continue statement skips the current iteration and moves to the next one.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the loop to skip even numbers and print only odd numbers.

PowerShell

foreach ($num in 1..6) {
    if ($num % 2 -eq 0) {
        [1]
    }
    Write-Output $num
}

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

Abreak

Bcontinue

Cexit

Dskip

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'break' will stop the loop after the first even number.

Using continue skips even numbers and continues the loop to print only odd numbers.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to stop the loop when number is 4 and skip printing number 2.

PowerShell

foreach ($i in 1..5) {
    if ($i -eq 2) {
        [1]
    }
    if ($i -eq 4) {
        [2]
    }
    Write-Output $i
}

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

Acontinue

Bbreak

Cexit

Dskip

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using break to skip number 2 will stop the loop too early.

continue skips printing number 2, and break stops the loop at number 4.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to skip numbers less than 3, stop at 6, and print the rest.

PowerShell

foreach ($num in 1..7) {
    if ($num -lt [1]) {
        [2]
    }
    if ($num -eq [3]) {
        break
    }
    Write-Output $num
}

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

A3

Bcontinue

C6

Dexit

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'exit' instead of 'continue' will stop the entire script.

Numbers less than 3 are skipped with continue. The loop stops at 6 using break. The blanks fill the values and commands accordingly.

Practice

1. What does the break statement do inside a PowerShell loop?

easy

A. Stops the loop immediately and exits it

B. Skips the current iteration and continues with the next

C. Restarts the loop from the beginning

D. Pauses the loop until a condition is met

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the purpose of break

   The break statement is used to exit a loop immediately, no matter where it is in the loop.

2. Step 2: Compare with other options

   continue skips to the next iteration, but break stops the loop entirely.

3. Final Answer:

   Stops the loop immediately and exits it -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   break stops loop [OK]

Hint: Remember: break = stop loop, continue = skip iteration [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing break with continue
• Thinking break skips iteration instead of stopping
• Assuming break restarts the loop

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to skip the current iteration in a PowerShell foreach loop?

easy

A. skip

B. continue

C. break

D. next

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify the keyword to skip iteration

   In PowerShell, continue is the keyword used to skip the current iteration and move to the next one.

2. Step 2: Verify other options

   break stops the loop, skip and next are not valid PowerShell keywords for this purpose.

3. Final Answer:

   continue -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   continue skips iteration [OK]

Hint: Use continue to skip iteration, break to stop loop [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using break instead of continue
• Using non-existent keywords like skip or next
• Confusing syntax with other languages

3. What will be the output of this PowerShell script?

foreach ($i in 1..5) {
  if ($i -eq 3) { continue }
  if ($i -eq 5) { break }
  Write-Output $i
}

medium

A. 1 2 4

B. 1 2 3 4

C. 1 2 4 5

D. 1 2

Solution

1. Step 1: Analyze loop iterations and conditions

   Loop runs from 1 to 5. When $i is 3, continue skips output. When $i is 5, break stops loop before output.

2. Step 2: Determine output values

   Outputs are for $i = 1, 2, and 4 only. 3 is skipped, 5 stops loop before output.

3. Final Answer:

   1 2 4 -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   continue skips 3, break stops before 5 [OK]

Hint: Trace loop step-by-step, watch continue and break effects [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Including 3 in output despite continue
• Including 5 in output despite break
• Confusing continue and break effects

4. Identify the error in this PowerShell script snippet:

foreach ($num in 1..4) {
  if ($num -eq 2) {
    continue
  }
  elseif ($num -eq 3) {
    break
  }
  Write-Output $num
}

medium

A. The Write-Output is unreachable for $num = 3

B. The break statement should be outside the loop

C. No error; script runs as expected

D. The continue statement is used incorrectly

Solution

1. Step 1: Review the use of continue and break

   continue correctly skips output when $num is 2. break stops loop when $num is 3.

2. Step 2: Check output and flow

   Output will be 1 only. No syntax or logic errors present.

3. Final Answer:

   No error; script runs as expected -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   continue and break used correctly [OK]

Hint: Check if continue/break are inside loop and reachable [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking break must be outside loop
• Assuming continue causes error
• Confusing unreachable code with error

5. You want to process numbers 1 to 10 but skip all even numbers and stop processing once you reach a number greater than 7. Which script correctly uses break and continue to achieve this?

hard

A. foreach ($n in 1..10) {
if ($n % 2 -eq 0) { break }
if ($n -gt 7) { continue }
Write-Output $n
}

B. foreach ($n in 1..10) {
if ($n % 2 -eq 0) { continue }
Write-Output $n
if ($n -gt 7) { break }
}

C. foreach ($n in 1..10) {
if ($n -gt 7) { continue }
if ($n % 2 -eq 0) { break }
Write-Output $n
}

D. foreach ($n in 1..10) {
if ($n -gt 7) { break }
if ($n % 2 -eq 0) { continue }
Write-Output $n
}

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand conditions order

   We must stop loop when number > 7, so break must check that first to stop immediately.

2. Step 2: Skip even numbers using continue

   After checking break, skip even numbers with continue to avoid output.

3. Step 3: Verify output

   Outputs odd numbers from 1 to 7 only, then stops.

4. Final Answer:

   Option D script -> Option D

5. Quick Check:

   break before continue for correct flow [OK]

Hint: Check break condition before continue to stop early [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Placing continue before break causing wrong stop
• Using break to skip even numbers instead of continue
• Not stopping loop when number > 7