Year 7 – Programming essentials in Scratch: part I Learner activity sheet

Multiple choice questions

Answers to multiple choice questions

Introduction
The following are a set of multiple choice questions. You can choose to either give them
to your learners throughout the unit or at the end to assess their understanding, and
whether or not they have picked up any misconceptions.

The answers to the questions are below, as well as justification as to why each incorrect
answer isn’t correct and/or which misconception the incorrect answer would highlight.

Where possible, each question has been linked to a common misconception.

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Year 7 – Programming essentials in Scratch: part I Learner activity sheet
Multiple choice questions

Sequencing

Q1. Which one of the following segments of code would be the most precise block to use
to draw a blue square in Scratch?

A B

This is the correct answer as it provides This missed the option of making the pen
all of the necessary and precise down. Learners might think this uses fewer
commands. lines of code and therefore is the correct
answer.

C D

There is no command to draw a square. The commands ‘move’ and ‘turn’ need
The computer needs to be told additional information, such as how far,
specifically how to draw a square. and how many degrees. The computer will
not guess this information or make
assumptions as a human might.

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Year 7 – Programming essentials in Scratch: part I Learner activity sheet
Multiple choice questions

Misconception: Programs are interpreted more or less like sentences in natural

conversation. The computer or programming environment is, for practical purposes, able
to deduce the intention of the programmer. It may, for instance, fill in the ‘obvious’
missing information without being taught.

Q2. Would the following program correctly play the nursery rhyme Hot Cross Buns?

Answer No

Justification This is to pick up on the misconception that subprograms are

executed in the order in which they are defined. The program
defines the subroutines in the correct order, but calls them in the
incorrect order.

Misconception: Subprograms are executed in the order in which they are defined.

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Year 7 – Programming essentials in Scratch: part I Learner activity sheet
Multiple choice questions

Variables
Q3. What would the output of “say weather” be at the end of this program?

A rain Incorrect: Misconception that the

variable will only hold its initial value.

B cloudy Correct: Demonstrates that the learner

understands that it doesn’t
remember/store previous values once it
has been overwritten.

C rain, sun, rain, cloudy Incorrect: Misconception that the

variable stores a history of values.

D weather Incorrect: Misconception that the name

of the variable is the value that is being
held.

Misconceptions:
● A variable can store multiple values. It may store the history of values assigned to
it.
● A variable is merely a pairing of a name with a value. It is not stored within the
computer.

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Year 7 – Programming essentials in Scratch: part I Learner activity sheet
Multiple choice questions

Q4. What value would be held by the ‘name1’ variable and the ‘name2’ variable at the
end of this program?

A name1 = Jordan Incorrect: ‘name1’ has been reassigned a

name2 = Riley new value on the third line.

B name1 = Riley Incorrect: ‘name1’ has been reassigned to

name2 = Jordan Riley, this is correct. However, ‘name2’
has not changed from the original
assignment, so Jordan is incorrect.

C name1 = Jordan Incorrect: Assignment statements read

name2 = Jordan from right to left and not the other way
round.

D name1 = Riley This is the correct answer. Assignment

name2 = Riley statements are read from left to right so
Riley will now also be held in ‘name1’.

Misconception: Assignment statements such as a = b work in both directions.

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Year 7 – Programming essentials in Scratch: part I Learner activity sheet
Multiple choice questions

Selection, conditions, and operators

Q5. What will be the output of this program when it is executed? (What will the sprite
say?)

A Good afternoon Incorrect: Although “Good afternoon” will be

outputted, the final Say block is not the Else.
“How are you?” will also be outputted.

B How are you? Incorrect: The condition will evaluate as ‘true’

and therefore “Good afternoon” will also be
said.

C Good afternoon Correct: The condition will evaluate as ‘true’

How are you? and therefore “Good afternoon” will be
outputted. The “How are you?” will also be
outputted as it is outside of the selection
statement.

D Nothing will be Incorrect: The condition will evaluate as ‘true’

outputted/said and therefore “Good afternoon” will be
outputted. The “How are you?” will also be
outputted as it is outside of the selection
statement and will be executed regardless.

Misconception: Using Else is optional (the next statement is always the Else branch).

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Year 7 – Programming essentials in Scratch: part I Learner activity sheet
Multiple choice questions

Q6. What will be the output of this program when it is executed? (What will the sprite
say?)

A Good afternoon Correct: Hour is equal to 12 and not less than

How are you? 12. The condition evaluates as ‘false’,
therefore the Else is executed as well as the
Say block outside of the selection statement.

B How are you? Incorrect: This will be outputted, but where

there is selection with an If and Else, at least
one will be executed.

C Good morning Incorrect: Misconception that the Else block is

Good afternoon always executed.
How are you?

D Good morning Incorrect: Hour is equal to 12 and not less

How are you? than 12. The condition evaluates as ‘false’. For
“Good morning” to be outputted the
statement condition would have had to have
evaluated as ‘true’.

Misconceptions:
● Using Else is optional (the next statement is always the Else branch)
● Else branch is always executed

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Year 7 – Programming essentials in Scratch: part I Learner activity sheet
Multiple choice questions

Q7. Which of the conditions would evaluate to ‘true’ with the following inputs?

A Incorrect: ‘number2’ is less than 90,

but ‘number1’ is not greater than 30.
As the And operator has been used,
both conditions must be ‘true’ for the
whole statement to evaluate as
‘true’.

B Incorrect: Both conditions evaluate

as ‘false’.

C Correct: The And required both

conditions to evaluate to ‘true’,
which they do.

D Correct: Both conditions evaluate as

‘true’. The Or operator requires one
or the other. If both are ‘true’ the or
will still evaluate to ‘true’.

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Year 7 – Programming essentials in Scratch: part I Learner activity sheet
Multiple choice questions

Count-controlled iteration

Q8. Which of the following blocks of code would make the Scratch cat say “1, 2, 3”,
leaving a second in between each number?

A B

Incorrect: The variable number is not Incorrect: The variable has been initialised
incrementing and therefore this to 1, but the value of the variable is
program will only output “1, 1, 1”. changed before the number is outputted.
This program will output “2, 3, 4”.

C D

Correct: The variable has been Incorrect: The variable has not been given
initialised and in incremented after the a value to start. Scratch will allow this, but
Say block. by default will set the value of the variable
to 0. This program will output “0, 1, 2”.

Misconceptions: All of the options are very standard patterns in iteration and the
distractors reflect the common errors that learners make.

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Year 7 – Programming essentials in Scratch: part I Learner activity sheet
Multiple choice questions

Q9. What will be the output of this program when it is executed? (What will the sprite
say?)

A Sun, Rain, It’s raining Incorrect: Misconception — the loop does not
break/stop iterating as soon as the condition
of the selection statement is met.

B Sun, Rain, Rain Incorrect: The selection statement will be

executed after the final iteration. The
selection statement evaluates to ‘true’ and
therefore it will output/say “It’s raining”.

C Sun, Rain, Rain, It’s raining Correct: All iterations will be completed
before the selection statement evaluates the
condition.

D Sun, It’s raining Incorrect: Misconception — the loop does not

break/stop iterating as soon as the condition
of the selection statement is met.

Misconception: An If statement triggers whenever its condition becomes true (i.e. the If
statement is being constantly evaluated).

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Year 7 – Programming essentials in Scratch: part I Learner activity sheet
Multiple choice questions

Q10. What will be the output of this program when it is executed? (What will the sprite
say?)

A 10, 11, Lunchtime, 12 This assumes that there hasn't been an

incremental change in the number when the
condition became 'true'.

B 10, 11, Lunchtime, 13 Correct: The condition is true when hour = 12

and therefore the program will say
“Lunchtime”. On the other iterations the
condition is being evaluated to ‘false’ and
therefore the hour is outputted.

C 10, 11, 12, 13 Incorrect: This assumes that the condition

never evaluates to ‘true’. It does when hour is
equal to 12.

D 10, 11, Lunchtime, 12, 13 Incorrect: Misconception that the Else branch
is always executed.

Resources are updated regularly — the latest version is available at: ncce.io/tcc.

This resource is licensed under the Open Government Licence, version 3. For more information on this
licence, see ncce.io/ogl.

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