Power with default argument (3)

What this problem practises

Function bugs are mostly about names and values: positional argument order, default parameters evaluated once at definition time, local versus global scope, and the implicit None returned whenever a function has no return.

This is an output-prediction problem: read the snippet carefully and write down exactly what it prints before anything runs. These questions are interview staples because they test whether you know the language rules, or merely recognise their syntax.

Difficulty: medium — expect to hold two interacting rules in your head at once, such as a boundary combined with a mutation.

The challenge

What will this program print? Type the exact output (both lines).

The code runs in PyDebug’s in-browser compiler. Open the problem, run the snippet, watch the exact error or output, and keep iterating until it is right. Signed-in solves count toward XP and your daily streak.

The snippet

The interactive editor pre-fills exactly this code — read it, then submit your prediction:

def power(base, exp=2):
    return base ** exp
print(power(3))
print(power(3, 3))

More functions problems

• TypeError: len() of a number easy
• TypeError: missing function argument medium
• AssertionError: age check fails medium

Keep going

• Output-prediction strategies — how to predict tricky snippets without running them.
• Browse every functions problem in this topic.
• Common Python errors and what they actually mean, plus the Python glossary for any term used on this page.