ISTQB CTFL-Foundation Exam - Topic 1 Question 39 Discussion

Actual exam question for ISTQB's CTFL-Foundation exam

Question #: 39
Topic #: 1

[All CTFL-Foundation Questions]

Consider the following pseudo code:

1 Begin

2 Read Time

3 If Time < 12 Then

4 Print(Time, "am")

5 Endif

6 If Time > 12 Then

7 Print(Time 12, "pm")

8 Endif

9 If Time = 12 Then

10 Print (Time, "noon")

11 Endif

12 End

How many test cases are needed to achieve 100 per cent decision coverage?

Show Suggested Answer

Suggested Answer: C

The three decisions are in sequence and the conditions are all mutually exclusive (if any one is true the others must be false). Hence a test case that makes the first decision true will make the second and third decisions false and so on.

So test case 1 (say Time = 6) would exercise the path True, False, False, test case 2 (say Time = 15) would exercise the path False, True, False. Test case 3 would have to be Time = 12. This combination achieves 100 per cent decision coverage because each decision has been exercised through its true and its false outcomes.

by Shannan at Jul 07, 2025, 09:36 PM

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Tyisha

5 months ago

I thought it was just 2 cases, am I missing something?

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Arthur

5 months ago

I think it's actually 4 cases.

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Kiley

6 months ago

Wait, how does 12 noon fit in there?

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Louann

6 months ago

Definitely 3, one for each condition.

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Eliseo

6 months ago

You need 3 test cases for full coverage.

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Marget

6 months ago

I feel like two cases might be enough if we just focus on the am and pm scenarios, but I could be missing something.

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Adelaide

7 months ago

I’m a bit confused about the “Time = 12” condition. Does that mean we need a separate case for noon?

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Ling

7 months ago

I remember practicing a similar question, and I think we might need four cases to cover all the conditions properly.

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Lenna

7 months ago

I think we need at least three test cases to cover all the decision points, but I'm not entirely sure.

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Diego

7 months ago

I'm not totally sure how to approach this. The pseudo-code seems simple enough, but I want to make sure I'm not missing anything. Maybe I'll start by writing out some sample input values and tracing through the logic.

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Basilia

7 months ago

Okay, let's see here. I need to test the conditions for Time < 12, Time > 12, and Time = 12. That should cover all the decision points and give me 100% decision coverage. Easy peasy!

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Katie

7 months ago

Hmm, I'm a bit confused by the pseudo-code. I'll need to carefully go through each step to make sure I understand the logic before I can determine the test cases.

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Fernanda

8 months ago

This looks like a pretty straightforward problem. I think I can handle it - just need to identify the different conditions and test cases.

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Aracelis

9 months ago

This question is a piece of cake! The answer is clearly C) 3. I bet the developer who wrote this code was napping on the job. Still, it's a good way to test our understanding of decision coverage.

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Gregg

8 months ago

Yeah, it's pretty straightforward. Just need to test all three conditions.

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Claribel

8 months ago

I agree, the answer is C) 3. It's a simple if-else statement.

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Rene

10 months ago

I'm a bit confused. Isn't this just a simple if-else statement? I think the answer is C) 3, but I'm not a 100% sure. Maybe I should ask the professor for some extra credit opportunities to boost my grade.

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Willie

8 months ago

User 2: Yeah, it's a simple if-else statement.

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Victor

8 months ago

User 1: I think the answer is C) 3.

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Ariel

10 months ago

Ha! The code is so simple, even a caveman could figure it out. I'm going with B) 2 test cases. One for Time < 12 and one for Time > 12. Easy peasy!

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Margurite

10 months ago

Hmm, I'm not so sure. Wouldn't you need 4 test cases to cover all the possibilities? One for Time < 12, one for Time > 12, one for Time = 12, and one for the default case where none of the conditions are true.

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Leeann

10 months ago

I think the answer is C) 3. The code has three decision points: Time < 12, Time > 12, and Time = 12. To achieve 100% decision coverage, we need to test each of these conditions.

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