Question

Consider the following code segment.

int a = 1;
while (a <= 2)
{
int c = 1;
while (/* missing condition */)
{
System.out.print("*");
c++;
}
a++;
}
The code segment is intended to print "******". Which of the following can be used to replace /* missing condition */ so that the code segment works as intended?
A. c <= 2
B. c < 3
C. c <= 3
D. c > 2
E. c >= 3

Answer 1

To print six asterisks with the nested loops, the correct condition for the missing condition in the inner while loop is 'c < 3' as it allows the loop to run three times for each iteration of the outer loop, thus printing three asterisks twice, totaling six.

Step-by-step explanation:

The code provided is designed to print a series of asterisks using nested while loops. To achieve the desired output of six asterisks (******), we need to determine the correct condition for the inner while loop so that it runs the appropriate number of times.

In the outer while loop, variable a starts at 1 and increments after each iteration until it is no longer less than or equal to 2, leading to two total iterations of the outer loop. For each iteration of the outer loop, the inner loop should print three asterisks, meaning the inner loop should run exactly three times.

Therefore, to print the inner set of three asterisks in each iteration, option B. c < 3 is the correct condition to replace /* missing condition */. With this condition, the inner while loop will iterate when the value of c is less than 3, which will happen exactly three times before c increments to 3 and the condition becomes false.