Breakpoint prefixes (sm, md, lg, xl, 2xl) in Tailwind - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to apply a red background only on small screens and larger.

Tailwind

<div class="[1]:bg-red-500">Hello</div>

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Amd

Bsm

Clg

Dxl

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using a larger breakpoint prefix like md or lg when sm is needed.

The sm prefix applies styles starting from small screens (640px) and up.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to make the text size large only on medium screens and above.

Tailwind

<p class="[1]:text-lg">Welcome!</p>

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Amd

Bsm

Cxl

D2xl

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using sm or xl instead of md for medium screens.

The md prefix applies styles starting from medium screens (768px) and up.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the code to apply padding only on large screens and above.

Tailwind

<section class="[1]:p-4">Content</section>

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Alg

Bmd

Cxl

Dsm

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using md or sm instead of lg for large screens.

The lg prefix applies styles starting from large screens (1024px) and up.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to apply margin on extra large screens and padding on 2xl screens.

Tailwind

<div class="[1]:m-6 [2]:p-8">Box</div>

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Axl

Blg

C2xl

Dmd

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Mixing up xl and 2xl prefixes.

The xl prefix applies styles from 1280px and up, and 2xl applies from 1536px and up.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to set font bold on small screens, text center on medium, and text blue on large screens.

Tailwind

<h1 class="[1]:font-bold [2]:text-center [3]:text-blue-600">Title</h1>

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Alg

Bmd

Csm

Dxl

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using wrong prefixes or wrong order of breakpoints.

sm applies font bold starting at small screens (640px), md centers text at medium screens (768px), and lg colors text blue at large screens (1024px).

Practice

1. What does the md: prefix in Tailwind CSS do?

easy

A. Applies styles on all screen sizes

B. Applies styles only on medium and larger screens

C. Applies styles only on small screens

D. Applies styles only on extra large screens

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand Tailwind breakpoint prefixes

   Breakpoint prefixes like md: apply styles starting from that screen size and up.

2. Step 2: Identify what md: means

   md: applies styles on medium screens (768px) and larger devices.

3. Final Answer:

   Applies styles only on medium and larger screens -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   md: = medium and up [OK]

Hint: Remember: prefix applies from that size and up [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking prefix applies only at exact size
• Confusing sm and md breakpoints
• Assuming prefix applies to smaller screens

2. Which of these is the correct way to make text center-aligned only on large screens and bigger using Tailwind?

easy

A. lg:text-center

B. text-center:lg

C. text-center-lg

D. text-center lg

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall Tailwind syntax for breakpoints

   Breakpoint prefixes come before the utility class, separated by a colon, e.g., lg:text-center.

2. Step 2: Check each option

   Only lg:text-center uses correct prefix + utility format.

3. Final Answer:

   <code>lg:text-center</code> -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Prefix + colon + utility = correct syntax [OK]

Hint: Prefix always goes before utility with a colon [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Putting prefix after utility
• Using dash instead of colon
• Separating prefix and utility with space

3. Given this HTML snippet:

<div class="text-left md:text-center lg:text-right">Hello</div>

What will be the text alignment on a screen width of 1024px?

medium

A. Left aligned

B. Center aligned

C. Right aligned

D. Justified

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify screen size and breakpoints

   1024px is considered large (lg) screen in Tailwind (lg starts at 1024px).

2. Step 2: Determine which classes apply

   At 1024px, lg:text-right applies, overriding smaller breakpoints.

3. Final Answer:

   Right aligned -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   lg breakpoint overrides md and base [OK]

Hint: Largest matching breakpoint prefix wins [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Choosing center alignment at 1024px
• Ignoring lg breakpoint
• Assuming base style always applies

4. You wrote this class: sm:bg-red-500 md:bg-green-500 lg:bg-blue-500. But on a 500px wide screen, the background is still blue. What is the likely problem?

medium

A. Tailwind breakpoints are mobile-first, so larger prefixes override smaller ones

B. The order of classes is wrong; lg: should come first

C. You forgot to include the base background color without prefix

D. The lg: prefix applies to all screen sizes

Solution

1. Step 1: Check screen size vs breakpoints

   500px is below sm (640px+), so none of the prefixed classes (sm:, md:, lg:) apply at this size.

2. Step 2: Identify the missing piece

   However, if the background is still blue at 500px, it means the lg:bg-blue-500 class is applying at all screen sizes, which is incorrect behavior.

3. Step 3: Likely problem

   This usually happens if the lg: prefix is missing the colon or is malformed, causing the class to be interpreted as a normal class and applied globally.

4. Final Answer:

   The lg: prefix applies to all screen sizes -> Option D

5. Quick Check:

   Check for correct prefix syntax to ensure breakpoint applies properly [OK]

Hint: Set base styles first for smallest screens, then override with prefixes [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking sm: applies below 640px
• Believing class order determines breakpoint priority
• Forgetting base class for mobile screens

5. You want a button to have a small padding on phones, medium padding on tablets, and large padding on desktops and bigger. Which Tailwind classes achieve this?

hard

A. p-2 md:p-4 lg:p-6

B. p-6 md:p-4 lg:p-2

C. sm:p-2 md:p-4 xl:p-6

D. p-2 sm:p-4 md:p-6

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand base and breakpoint prefixes

   Base class p-2 applies to all screens, then md:p-4 overrides on medium (tablet) and up, lg:p-6 overrides on large (desktop) and up.

2. Step 2: Check each option

   p-2 md:p-4 lg:p-6 correctly sets small padding base, medium padding at md, and large padding at lg.

3. Final Answer:

   <code>p-2 md:p-4 lg:p-6</code> -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Base + md + lg prefixes for increasing sizes [OK]

Hint: Base class for smallest, then increase with md, lg [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Reversing padding sizes
• Using sm prefix instead of base for smallest
• Skipping breakpoint for medium screens