Reading file data in Python - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

❓ Predict Output

intermediate

Reading lines from a file

What is the output of this code when reading lines from a file named example.txt containing three lines:
Line1
Line2
Line3?

Python

with open('example.txt', 'r') as file:
    lines = file.readlines()
print(len(lines))

A 0

B 1

C 3

D Raises FileNotFoundError

💡 Hint

The readlines() method returns a list of all lines in the file.

The file has three lines, so readlines() returns a list with three elements. The length is 3.

❓ Predict Output

intermediate

Reading file content with read()

What will be printed by this code if data.txt contains the text Hello\nWorld?

Python

with open('data.txt', 'r') as f:
    content = f.read()
print(content)

A Raises TypeError

B Hello World

C ['Hello', 'World']

D

Hello
World

💡 Hint

The read() method returns the whole file content as a string including newlines.

The read() method reads the entire file as a string, preserving newlines.

❓ Predict Output

advanced

Reading file with a loop

What is the output of this code snippet reading notes.txt with 2 lines: Note1 and Note2?

Python

with open('notes.txt', 'r') as file:
    for line in file:
        print(line.strip())

A

Note1
Note2

B ['Note1', 'Note2']

C Note1 Note2

D Raises AttributeError

💡 Hint

The loop reads each line and strip() removes the newline before printing.

Each line is printed on its own line without trailing newline characters.

❓ Predict Output

advanced

Reading file with read(size)

What will this code print if file.txt contains abcdefg?

Python

with open('file.txt', 'r') as f:
    part = f.read(4)
    print(part)

A abcdefg

B abcd

C abc

D Raises ValueError

💡 Hint

The read(4) reads only the first 4 characters.

The read(4) reads exactly 4 characters from the file.

🧠 Conceptual

expert

File reading error handling

Which option correctly handles the error if the file missing.txt does not exist when trying to read it?

Python

try:
    with open('missing.txt', 'r') as f:
        data = f.read()
except ???:
    print('File not found')

A FileNotFoundError

B IOError

C ValueError

D KeyError

💡 Hint

The specific error for missing files is FileNotFoundError.

Trying to open a non-existent file raises FileNotFoundError in Python 3.