User Defined Methods
Multiple Choice Questions
Question 1
The method which changes the state of an object is known as:
1. pure method
2. impure method
3. replace method
4. none of the above
Answer
impure method
Reason — The method which changes the state of an object is known as impure method.
Question 2
Parameters used in method call statement are known as:
1. defined parameter
2. passed parameter
3. actual parameter
4. formal parameter
Answer
actual parameter
Reason — Parameters used in method call statement are known as actual parameter.
Question 3
Parameters used in the method definition are called:
1. forward parameter
2. actual parameter
3. formal parameter
4. none of the above
Answer
formal parameter
Reason — Parameters used in the method definition are called formal parameters.
Question 4
The process of calling a method in such a way that the change in the formal arguments reflects on the actual
parameter is known as:
1. call by reference
2. call by value
3. call by method
4. none
Answer
call by reference
Reason — The process of calling a method in such a way that the change in the formal arguments reflects on the
actual parameter is known as call by reference.
Question 5
A method with many definitions is called:
1. multiple method
2. method overloading
3. floating method
4. none
Answer
method overloading
Reason — A method with many definitions is called method overloading.
Question 6
A method may be associated with:
1. return
2. call
3. promote
4. none
Answer
return
Reason — A method may be associated with return.
Question 7
Which of the following type can be used for a non-returnable method?
1. int
2. float
3. double
4. void
Answer
void
Reason — void type is used for a non-returnable method.
Question 8
A method body is enclosed within a pair of:
1. {}
2. []
3. ()
4. under a rectangular box
Answer
{}
Reason — A method body is enclosed within a pair of { }.
Question 9
A method is invoked through an:
1. object
2. system
3. parameter
4. none
Answer
object
Reason — A method is invoked through an object.
Fill in the blanks
Question 1
A method can return only one value to its caller program.
Question 2
If a method does not return any value its return type is void.
Question 3
A method indicating the method name, return type along with method arguments is known as method
header/prototype.
Question 4
The variables used to receive the values in method header are known as formal parameters.
Question 5
Method in a Java program resides in package.
Question 6
The entire method body is enclosed under curly brackets.
Question 7
The procedural method performs some actions without returning any output.
Question 8
A method contains header and body.
Question 9
Methods used with same name but different types of arguments are known as method overloading.
Question 10
A method that is called by itself in its body is known as recursive method.
Write TRUE or FALSE
Question 1
Calling and invoking a method is same.
True
Question 2
A method can use a single return statement.
True
Question 3
Overloading of methods even depends on return type.
False
Question 4
A method cannot be defined without parameters.
False
Question 5
A method body is enclosed within curly brackets.
True
Give output of the following method definitions and also write what
mathematical operations they carry out
Question 1
void test1(int n)
{
for(int x = 1; x <= n; x++)
if(n % x == 0)
System.out.println(x);
}
if 12 is passed to n.
Answer
Output
1
2
3
4
6
12
Explanation
This method finds the factors of n.
Question 2
void test2(int a, int b)
{
while( a != b)
{
if ( a > b)
a = a — b;
else
a = b — a;
}
System.out.println(a);
}
if 4 and 17 are passed to the method.
Answer
Output
Infinite Loop
Explanation
Initial value of a is 4 and b is 17 as given in the question. As a and b are not equal, condition of while loop is
true, first iteration starts. a is less than b so if condition is false, a = b - a is executed and a becomes 17 - 4 =
13. Condition of while loop is true so second iteration starts. Again, if condition is false. This time a becomes 17
- 13 = 4. Like this, the value of a keeps oscillating between 13 and 4 resulting in an infinite loop.
Question 3
void test3(char c)
{
System.out.println( (int) c);
}
if 'm' is passed to c.
Answer
Output
109
Explanation
This method prints the ASCII code of its argument. When 'm' is passed to this method, its ASCII code which is
109 gets printed as the output.
Question 4
void test4(String x, String y)
{
if(x.compareTo(y) > 0)
System.out.println(x);
else
System.out.println(y);
}
if "AMIT" and "AMAN" are passed to the method.
Answer
Output
AMIT
Explanation
The first differing characters of "AMIT" and "AMAN" are 'I' and 'A', respectively. So output of
"AMIT".compareTo("AMAN") will be ASCII Code of 'I' - ASCII Code of 'A' ⇒ 73 - 65 ⇒ 8. The if condition is
true so string x which is "AMIT" gets printed as the output.
Answer the following
Question 1
Define a method. What is meant by method prototype?
Answer
A program module used at different instances in a program to perform a specific task is known as a method or a
function.
First line of method definition that contains the access specifier, return type, method name and a list of
parameters is called method prototype.
Question 2
What are the two ways of invoking methods?
Answer
Two ways of invoking methods are:
1. Pass by value.
2. Pass by reference.
Question 3
When a method returns the value, the entire method call can be assigned to a variable. Do you agree with the
statement?
Answer
Yes, when a method returns a value, we can assign the entire method call to a variable. The given example
illustrates the same:
public class Example {
public int sum(int a, int b) {
int c = a + b;
return c;
}
public static void main(String args[]) {
Example obj = new Example();
int x = 2, y = 3;
int z = obj.sum(x, y);
System.out.println(z);
}
}
Question 4
When a method is invoked how many values can be returned from the method?
Answer
A method can only return a single value.
Question 5
Debug the errors and rewrite the following method prototypes:
(a) int sum(x,y);
(b) float product(a,int y);
(c) float operate(int x, float=3.4);
(d) float sum(int x,y);
Answer
(a) int sum(int x, int y)
(b) float product(float a, int y)
(c) float operate(int x, float y)
(d) float sum(int x, float y)
Question 6
Write down the main method which calls the following method:
int square(int a)
{
return(a * a);
}
Answer
public static void main(String args[]) {
int sq = square(4);
}
Question 7
What happens when a method is passed by reference? Explain.
Answer
Pass by reference means that the arguments of the method are a reference to the original objects and not a copy.
So any changes that the called method makes to the objects are visible to the calling method. Consider the
example given below:
class PassByReferenceExample {
public void demoRef(int a[]) {
for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
a[i] = i;
}
}
public static void main(String args[]) {
PassByReferenceExample obj = new PassByReferenceExample();
int arr[] = { 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 };
System.out.println("Before call to demoRef value of arr");
for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
System.out.print(arr[i] + " ");
}
System.out.println();
obj.demoRef(arr);
System.out.println("After call to demoRef value of arr");
for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
System.out.print(arr[i] + " ");
}
}
}
The output of this program is:
Before call to demoRef value of arr
10 20 30 40 50
After call to demoRef value of arr
0 1 2 3 4
Here demoRef changes the values of array a and these changes are reflected in the array in the main method as
well.
Question 8
In what situation does a method return a value?
Answer
For a method to return a value, it should have a return type other than void in its method prototype and it should
return a value of the corresponding type using the return statement in the method body.
Question 9
Differentiate between pure and impure methods.
Answer
Pure method Impure method
Pure methods take objects and/or primitive data types as arguments Impure methods change the state of
but do not modify the objects. received objects.
Pure methods don't have side effects. Impure methods have side effects.
Question 10
Write a method which is used to swap the values of two memory locations.
(a) by using a third variable.
(b) without using a third variable.
Answer
(a) Swap the values of two memory locations by using a third variable:
void swap(int a, int b) {
int c = a;
a = b;
b = c;
System.out.println("a = " + a + "\t" + "b = " + b);
}
(b) Swap the values of two memory locations without using a third variable:
void swap(int a, int b) {
a = a + b;
b = a - b;
a = a - b;
System.out.println("a = " + a + "\t" + "b = " + b);
}
Question 11
Differentiate between call by value and call by reference.
Answer
Call by value Call by reference
Actual parameters are copied to formal parameters. Formal parameters refer to actual parameters. The
Any changes to formal parameters are not reflected changes to formal parameters are reflected onto
onto the actual parameters. the actual parameters.
All primitive data types are passed using Call by All reference data types like arrays and objects of
value. classes are passed using Call by reference.
Question 12
What are the advantages of defining a method in a program?
Answer
The advantages of defining methods in a program are:
1. Methods help to manage the complexity of the program by dividing a bigger complex task into smaller,
easily understood tasks.
2. Methods are useful in hiding the implementation details.
3. Methods help with code reusability.
Question 13
What is meant by method overloading? In what way it is advantageous?
Answer
Method overloading is the process of defining methods within a class, that have the same name but differ in the
number and/or the data types of their arguments.
The advantages of method overloading are as follows:
1. Method overloading is one of the ways in which Java implements the object oriented concept of
Polymorphism.
2. With method overloading, programmers don't have to create and remember different names for functions
doing the same thing for different data types.
Question 14
Define the following:
(a) Return data type
(b) Access specifier
(c) Parameter list
(d) Recursive method
(e) Method signature
Answer
(a) Return data type — Return data type specifies the type of value that the method should return. It is
mentioned before the method name in the method prototype. It can be any valid primitive or composite data type
of Java. If no value is being returned, it should be void.
(b) Access specifier — Access specifiers determine the type of access to the method. It can be either public,
private or protected.
(c) Parameter list — Parameter list is a comma-separated list of variables of a method along with their
respective data types. The list is enclosed within a pair of parentheses. Parameter list can be empty if the method
doesn't accept any parameters when it is called.
(d) Recursive method — A method that calls itself inside its body is called a recursive method.
(e) Method signature — Method signature comprises of the method name and the data types of the parameters.
For example, consider the given method:
int sum(int a, int b) {
int c = a + b;
return c;
}
Its method signature is:
sum(int, int)
Question 15
Explain the function of a return statement in Java programming.
Answer
A method returns a value through the return statement. Once a return statement is executed, the program control
moves back to the caller method skipping the remaining statements of the current method if any. A method can
have multiple return statements but only one of them will be executed. For example, consider the given method:
int sum(int a, int b) {
int c = a + b;
return c;
}
It uses a return statement to return a value of int type back to its caller.
Question 16
Differentiate between formal parameter and actual parameter.
Answer
Formal parameter Actual parameter
Formal parameters appear in method definition. Actual parameters appear in method call statement.
They represent the values received by the called They represent the values passed to the called
method. method.
Question 17
What is the role of the keyword void in declaring methods?
Answer
The keyword 'void' signifies that the method doesn't return a value to the calling method.
Question 18
If a method contains several return statements, how many of them will be executed?
Answer
A method can have multiple return statements but only one of them will be executed because once a return
statement is executed, the program control moves back to the caller method, skipping the remaining statements
of the current method.
Question 19
Which OOP principle implements method overloading?
Answer
Polymorphism implements method overloading.
Question 20
How are the following data passed to a method?
1. Primitive types
2. Reference types
Answer
1. By value
2. By reference
