Find element by XPath in Selenium Python - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

❓ locator

intermediate

Identify the correct XPath to select a button with text 'Submit'

Which XPath expression correctly selects a button element with the exact visible text 'Submit'?

A //button[text()='Submit']

B //button[contains(text(),'Submit')]

C //button[@name='Submit']

D //button[@value='Submit']

💡 Hint

Look for an XPath that matches the exact text inside the button element.

The XPath //button[text()='Submit'] selects a <button> element whose visible text exactly matches 'Submit'. Option A selects buttons containing 'Submit' anywhere in the text, which is broader. Options A and C look for attributes 'name' and 'value' which may not exist.

❓ assertion

intermediate

Check if element found by XPath is visible

Given the Selenium code below, what assertion correctly verifies the element found by XPath is visible on the page?

Selenium Python

element = driver.find_element(By.XPATH, "//div[@id='content']")

A assert element is None

B assert element.is_displayed()

C assert element.text == ''

D assert element.is_enabled()

💡 Hint

Visibility means the element is shown on the page, not just present in the HTML.

The method is_displayed() returns True if the element is visible to the user. is_enabled() checks if the element is enabled for interaction, which is different. Checking text or None does not confirm visibility.

❓ Predict Output

advanced

Output of Selenium find_elements with XPath returning multiple matches

What is the output type of the following Selenium Python code snippet if the XPath matches three elements on the page?

Selenium Python

elements = driver.find_elements(By.XPATH, "//ul[@id='menu']/li")
print(type(elements))
print(len(elements))

A <class 'list'>\n1

B <class 'WebElement'>\n1

C <class 'WebElement'>\n3

D <class 'list'>\n3

💡 Hint

find_elements returns a list of elements, even if multiple are found.

The method find_elements returns a list of WebElement objects. If three elements match, the list length is 3. The type printed is list. Options B and D incorrectly show a single WebElement type. Option D shows wrong length.

🔧 Debug

advanced

Identify the error in XPath expression causing NoSuchElementException

Why does the following Selenium code raise a NoSuchElementException?

Selenium Python

element = driver.find_element(By.XPATH, "//div[@class='container'][@id='main']")

A XPath syntax error: multiple predicates should be combined with 'and' inside one []

B The element does not exist on the page

C Missing quotes around attribute values

D Using find_element instead of find_elements causes the error

💡 Hint

Check how multiple attribute conditions are combined in XPath.

The XPath //div[@class='container'][@id='main'] is interpreted as selecting a div with class 'container' that has a child node with attribute id='main', which is incorrect. Multiple attribute conditions must be combined inside one predicate with 'and': //div[@class='container' and @id='main'].

❓ framework

expert

Best practice for waiting for element by XPath in Selenium Python

Which code snippet correctly waits up to 10 seconds for an element located by XPath to be visible before interacting with it?

A element = driver.find_element(By.XPATH, "//input[@name='email']"); assert element.is_displayed()

B element = driver.find_element(By.XPATH, "//input[@name='email']"); time.sleep(10)

C element = WebDriverWait(driver, 10).until(EC.visibility_of_element_located((By.XPATH, "//input[@name='email']")))

D element = WebDriverWait(driver, 10).until(EC.presence_of_element_located((By.XPATH, "//input[@name='email']")))

💡 Hint

Waiting for visibility ensures the element can be interacted with, not just present in the DOM.

Option C uses explicit wait with visibility_of_element_located, which waits until the element is visible. Option C uses fixed sleep which is inefficient. Option C does not wait and may fail if element is not yet visible. Option C waits for presence but element might be hidden.