Comparison operators (-eq, -ne, -gt, -lt) in PowerShell - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

💻 Command Output

intermediate

What is the output of this PowerShell comparison?

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

PowerShell

$a = 5
$b = 10
if ($a -lt $b) { "Less" } else { "Not Less" }

A Not Less

B Less

C True

D False

💡 Hint

Remember that -lt means 'less than'.

Since 5 is less than 10, the condition $a -lt $b is true, so the output is 'Less'.

💻 Command Output

intermediate

What does this script print?

What will this PowerShell script print to the console?

PowerShell

$x = 7
$y = 7
if ($x -ne $y) { "Different" } else { "Same" }

A Same

B Different

C True

D False

💡 Hint

The -ne operator means 'not equal'.

Since $x and $y are both 7, $x -ne $y is false, so the else block runs and prints 'Same'.

💻 Command Output

advanced

What is the output of this comparison chain?

What will this PowerShell code output?

PowerShell

$num = 15
if ($num -gt 10 -and $num -lt 20) { "In range" } else { "Out of range" }

A In range

B True

C Out of range

D False

💡 Hint

Check if 15 is greater than 10 and less than 20.

15 is greater than 10 and less than 20, so the condition is true and 'In range' is printed.

💻 Command Output

advanced

What error or output does this script produce?

What happens when you run this PowerShell code?

PowerShell

$val = '5'
if ($val -gt 3) { "Greater" } else { "Not Greater" }

A False

B Not Greater

C Cannot compare values of different types

D Greater

💡 Hint

PowerShell tries to convert strings to numbers when comparing.

PowerShell converts the string '5' to number 5, which is greater than 3, so it prints 'Greater'.

💻 Command Output

expert

What is the output of this script with mixed comparisons?

Analyze this PowerShell script and select the output it produces.

PowerShell

$a = 8
$b = 8
$c = 10
if ($a -eq $b -and $c -lt 5) { "Match and less" } elseif ($a -eq $b -and $c -gt 5) { "Match and greater" } else { "No match" }

A Error: ambiguous condition

B Match and less

C Match and greater

D No match

💡 Hint

Check both conditions carefully in order.

The first if condition fails because $c -lt 5 is false. The elseif condition is true because $a equals $b and $c is greater than 5, so it prints 'Match and greater'.

Practice

1. Which PowerShell operator checks if two values are equal?

easy

A. -eq

B. -ne

C. -gt

D. -lt

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the meaning of each operator

   -eq means equals, -ne means not equals, -gt means greater than, -lt means less than.

2. Step 2: Identify the operator for equality

   The operator that checks if two values are equal is -eq.

3. Final Answer:

   -eq -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Equals operator = -eq [OK]

Hint: Remember: eq means equal, ne means not equal [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing -eq with -ne
• Mixing -gt and -lt
• Using == instead of -eq

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to check if variable $a is greater than 10 in PowerShell?

easy

A. if ($a -gt 10) { }

B. if ($a > 10) { }

C. if ($a -lt 10) { }

D. if ($a -eq 10) { }

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall PowerShell comparison syntax

   PowerShell uses -gt for greater than, not > like some other languages.

2. Step 2: Match the correct operator

   The correct syntax to check if $a is greater than 10 is if ($a -gt 10) { }.

3. Final Answer:

   if ($a -gt 10) { } -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Greater than operator = -gt [OK]

Hint: Use -gt for greater than, not > in PowerShell [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using > instead of -gt
• Confusing -lt with -gt
• Missing parentheses in if statement

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

$x = 5
if ($x -ne 5) { 'No' } else { 'Yes' }

medium

A. 5

B. No

C. Yes

D. False

Solution

1. Step 1: Evaluate the condition $x -ne 5

   $x is 5, so $x -ne 5 means 5 not equal to 5, which is False.

2. Step 2: Determine which block runs

   Since condition is False, the else block runs, outputting 'Yes'.

3. Final Answer:

   Yes -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   5 not equal 5 is False, so else runs [OK]

Hint: -ne means not equal; false triggers else block [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking -ne means equal
• Confusing output with variable value
• Ignoring else block

4. Identify the error in this PowerShell snippet:

$num = 10
if ($num -gt 5) { 'Greater' } elseif ($num -lt 5) { 'Smaller' } else { 'Equal' }

medium

A. Missing closing brace for if block

B. No error, code runs correctly

C. Incorrect use of elseif instead of else if

D. Using -gt instead of > operator

Solution

1. Step 1: Check syntax of if-elseif-else

   PowerShell supports elseif as one word; braces are balanced.

2. Step 2: Verify operators and structure

   -gt and -lt are correct operators; no syntax errors present.

3. Final Answer:

   No error, code runs correctly -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   elseif is valid in PowerShell [OK]

Hint: PowerShell uses elseif as one word, not else if [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking elseif is invalid
• Expecting > instead of -gt
• Missing braces confusion

5. You want to write a PowerShell script that prints 'Valid' only if a variable $score is greater than or equal to 70. Which code snippet correctly uses comparison operators to achieve this?

hard

A. if ($score -gt 70) { 'Valid' } else { 'Invalid' }

B. if ($score -lt 70) { 'Valid' } else { 'Invalid' }

C. if ($score -eq 70) { 'Valid' } else { 'Invalid' }

D. if ($score -ge 70) { 'Valid' } else { 'Invalid' }

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the requirement

   We want to check if $score is greater than or equal to 70.

2. Step 2: Identify the correct operator

   -ge means greater than or equal to, which matches the requirement.

3. Final Answer:

   if ($score -ge 70) { 'Valid' } else { 'Invalid' } -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Greater or equal operator = -ge [OK]

Hint: Use -ge for greater or equal comparisons [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using -gt excludes 70
• Using -eq only matches exactly 70
• Using -lt reverses logic