XPath axes (parent, child, sibling) in Selenium Python - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

❓ locator

intermediate

Locate the parent element using XPath axes

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

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

Selenium Python

<div class="container">
  <span>Hello</span>
</div>

A //span[text()='Hello']/child::div

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

C //div[text()='Hello']/parent::span

D //span[text()='Hello']/parent::div

💡 Hint

Remember that the parent axis selects the immediate parent node of the current node.

Option D uses the parent axis to select the

that is the parent of the with text 'Hello'. Option D selects the child of a

, not the parent. Option D tries to select a child

of , which does not exist. Option D incorrectly reverses the parent-child relationship.

❓ locator

intermediate

Select child elements with XPath axes

Which XPath expression selects all

child elements of the

with id 'menu'?

Selenium Python

<ul id="menu">
  <li>Home</li>
  <li>About</li>
  <li>Contact</li>
</ul>

A //ul[@id='menu']/child::li

B //li/child::ul[@id='menu']

C //ul[@id='menu']/parent::li

D //ul[@id='menu']/following-sibling::li

💡 Hint

Child axis selects direct children of the current node.

Option A correctly selects all

elements that are direct children of the

with id 'menu'. Option A tries to select a
child of
• , which is incorrect. Option A selects the parent of
  , which is not
  • . Option A selects siblings of
    , which are not
    • elements.

❓ Predict Output

advanced

Output of XPath sibling selection

Given the HTML below, what text will be selected by the XPath expression //h2[@id='title']/following-sibling::p[1]?

Selenium Python

<div>
  <h2 id="title">Section</h2>
  <p>First paragraph.</p>
  <p>Second paragraph.</p>
</div>

A Second paragraph.

B First paragraph.

C Section

D No element selected

💡 Hint

The following-sibling axis selects siblings after the current node. The [1] means the first following sibling.

The XPath selects the first

element that is a following sibling of the

with id 'title'. That is the

with text 'First paragraph.'.

❓ assertion

advanced

Assertion for sibling element text

You want to assert that the paragraph immediately following the

with id 'header' contains the text 'Welcome!'. Which assertion is correct in Python Selenium?

Selenium Python

element = driver.find_element(By.XPATH, "//h2[@id='header']/following-sibling::p[1]")
actual_text = element.text

A assert actual_text == 'Welcome!'

B assert actual_text != 'Welcome!'

C assert 'Welcome!' in driver.find_element(By.XPATH, "//h2[@id='header']/parent::p").text

D assert element.text == 'header'

💡 Hint

Check that the text of the selected sibling matches exactly 'Welcome!'.

Option A correctly asserts that the text of the first following sibling

is exactly 'Welcome!'. Option A asserts the opposite. Option A uses parent axis incorrectly and will raise an error. Option A compares text to 'header' which is incorrect.

🔧 Debug

expert

Debugging XPath parent axis usage

The following Selenium code raises a NoSuchElementException. What is the most likely cause?

Selenium Python

element = driver.find_element(By.XPATH, "//span[@class='label']/parent::div[@class='container']")

A Selenium does not support the parent axis in XPath.

B The parent axis cannot be used with predicates like [@class='container'].

C The <span> element does not have a parent <div> with class 'container'.

D The XPath syntax for parent axis is incorrect; it should be 'parent:div'.

💡 Hint

Check the HTML structure to confirm the parent element's class attribute.

Option C is correct because if the parent

does not have the class 'container', the XPath will not find any matching element, causing NoSuchElementException. Option C is wrong syntax; 'parent::' is correct. Option C is false; predicates can be used with axes. Option C is false; Selenium supports parent axis.

Practice

1. Which XPath axis selects the direct parent of the current node?

easy

A. child::

B. parent::

C. following-sibling::

D. preceding-sibling::

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand XPath axes

   XPath axes describe relationships between nodes, such as parent, child, or siblings.

2. Step 2: Identify the axis for parent node

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

3. Final Answer:

   parent:: -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Parent axis = parent:: [OK]

Hint: Parent axis always uses 'parent::' [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing parent:: with child::
• Using sibling axes to find parent
• Forgetting axes syntax with double colons

2. Which of the following is the correct XPath syntax to select all child <li> elements of a <ul> element?

easy

A. //ul/parent::li

B. //ul/preceding-sibling::li

C. //ul/following-sibling::li

D. //ul/child::li

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand child axis usage

   The child:: axis selects direct children of the current node.

2. Step 2: Apply correct syntax for child li elements

   Using //ul/child::li selects all li children of ul.

3. Final Answer:

   //ul/child::li -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Child axis syntax = child:: [OK]

Hint: Use 'child::' to select direct children nodes [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using parent:: instead of child::
• Using sibling axes for children
• Omitting the axis and expecting child selection

3. Given the following HTML snippet:

<div>
  <h2>Title</h2>
  <p>Paragraph 1</p>
  <p>Paragraph 2</p>
</div>

What does the XPath //h2/following-sibling::p[1] select?

medium

A. No element, XPath is invalid

B. The second p element inside the div

C. The first p element inside the div

D. The h2 element itself

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand following-sibling axis

   The following-sibling::p[1] selects the first p sibling after the h2 node.

2. Step 2: Apply to given HTML

   After h2, the first p is "Paragraph 1", so it selects that element.

3. Final Answer:

   The first <p> element inside the <div> -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   following-sibling::p[1] = first p after h2 [OK]

Hint: following-sibling::p[1] picks first p after current node [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Selecting the second p instead of the first
• Confusing preceding-sibling with following-sibling
• Thinking it selects children instead of siblings

4. You wrote this XPath to select the previous sibling of a div element:
//div/preceding-sibling::div[1]
But it returns no elements. What is the most likely reason?

medium

A. The div has no preceding sibling div elements

B. The syntax is incorrect; axes cannot be used with //

C. You should use parent::div instead

D. preceding-sibling axis selects children, not siblings

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand preceding-sibling axis

   The preceding-sibling::div[1] selects the immediate previous sibling div element.

2. Step 2: Reason why no elements returned

   If no elements are returned, it means the current div has no preceding sibling div.

3. Final Answer:

   The <div> has no preceding sibling <div> elements -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   preceding-sibling returns nothing if no previous siblings [OK]

Hint: No preceding sibling means empty result, not syntax error [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking axes can't be used with //
• Confusing parent:: with preceding-sibling::
• Assuming preceding-sibling selects children

5. You want to select all span elements that are children of a div whose immediate parent is a section. Which XPath expression correctly uses axes to achieve this?

hard

A. //section/child::div/child::span

B. //div/parent::section/child::span

C. //section/parent::div/child::span

D. //span/parent::div/parent::section

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the hierarchy

   The span elements are children of div, and that div is a child of section.

2. Step 2: Build XPath with axes

   //section/child::div/child::span selects span children of div children of section.

3. Step 3: Check other options

   //div/parent::section/child::span selects span children of section, which is incorrect. //section/parent::div/child::span and D misuse axes or order.

4. Final Answer:

   //section/child::div/child::span -> Option A

5. Quick Check:

   Use child axes from section to div to span [OK]

Hint: Chain child:: axes from parent to target child [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using parent:: in wrong direction
• Selecting wrong node levels
• Mixing sibling axes instead of child axes