XPath axes (parent, following-sibling, preceding) in Selenium Java - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

❓ locator

intermediate

Identify the correct XPath using the parent axis

Given the HTML snippet below, which XPath expression correctly selects the

element that is the parent of the with text 'Price'?

Selenium Java

<div class="product">
  <span>Price</span>
</div>

A //span[text()='Price']/parent::div

B //span[text()='Price']/child::div

C //div[span='Price']/preceding-sibling::span

D //span[text()='Price']/following-sibling::div

💡 Hint

The parent axis selects the direct parent node of the current node.

Option A uses the parent axis to select the div that contains the span with text 'Price'. Other options select incorrect axes or nodes.

❓ locator

intermediate

Select the correct following-sibling element

Which XPath expression selects the

element that immediately follows the

with text 'Item 2'?

Selenium Java

<ul>
  <li>Item 1</li>
  <li>Item 2</li>
  <li>Item 3</li>
  <li>Item 4</li>
</ul>

A //li[text()='Item 2']/preceding-sibling::li[1]

B //li[text()='Item 2']/parent::ul/li[3]

C //li[text()='Item 2']/following::li[2]

D //li[text()='Item 2']/following-sibling::li[1]

💡 Hint

The following-sibling axis selects siblings after the current node.

Option D correctly selects the immediate next sibling li after 'Item 2'. Option D selects the previous sibling, C selects a child by position, and D selects the second following li which is 'Item 4'.

❓ Predict Output

advanced

What is the result of this XPath query?

Given the HTML below, what text will be selected by the XPath expression //h2[text()='Chapter 2']/preceding-sibling::h2[1]?

Selenium Java

<div>
  <h2>Chapter 1</h2>
  <h2>Chapter 2</h2>
  <h2>Chapter 3</h2>
</div>

A Chapter 2

B Chapter 3

C Chapter 1

D No nodes selected

💡 Hint

preceding-sibling selects siblings before the current node.

The XPath selects the first h2 before 'Chapter 2', which is 'Chapter 1'.

❓ assertion

advanced

Which assertion correctly verifies the presence of the parent element?

In Selenium Java, which assertion correctly verifies that the parent of the element located by //span[@id='price'] has the class 'product'?

Selenium Java

WebElement priceSpan = driver.findElement(By.xpath("//span[@id='price']"));

A Assert.assertTrue(priceSpan.findElement(By.xpath("child::div")).getAttribute("class").equals("product"));

B Assert.assertEquals(priceSpan.findElement(By.xpath("parent::div")).getAttribute("class"), "product");

C Assert.assertEquals(priceSpan.findElement(By.xpath("following-sibling::div")).getAttribute("class"), "product");

D Assert.assertTrue(priceSpan.findElement(By.xpath("preceding-sibling::div")).getAttribute("class").contains("product"));

💡 Hint

Use the parent axis to find the parent element.

Option B correctly uses parent::div to find the parent div and asserts its class attribute equals 'product'. Other options use incorrect axes or methods.

🔧 Debug

expert

Debug the failing XPath locator using axes

A test fails because the XPath //div[@class='menu']/following-sibling::ul/li does not find any elements. Given the HTML below, what is the main reason for failure?

Selenium Java

<div class="menu">Main Menu</div>
<ul>
  <li>Home</li>
  <li>About</li>
</ul>

A The <ul> is not a following sibling of the <div>, it is a following node but not sibling.

B The XPath should use preceding-sibling instead of following-sibling.

C The <ul> is a child of the <div>, so child axis should be used.

D The XPath syntax is invalid because axes cannot be used after attribute filters.

💡 Hint

Check the HTML structure to see sibling relationships.

The

is not a sibling of the
but a following node at the same level, so following-sibling axis does not select it. Option A is incorrect; the XPath syntax is valid. Option A is wrong because preceding-sibling is the opposite direction. Option A is wrong because
is not a child of
.