Here are 50 placement questions on Data Types, Class & Object (OOP), Stacks, and Linked

Lists with clear questions and concise answers for engineering interviews:

Data Types (10 Questions)

1. Q: What are the primitive data types in Python?

A: int, float, bool, str, complex.
2. Q: What is the difference between mutable and immutable data types?
A: Mutable types (like list, dict) can be changed after creation; immutable types (like int,
str, tuple) cannot.
3. Q: How is memory allocated for variables in Python?
A: Python uses dynamic typing; memory is allocated on the heap for objects and
references on the stack.
4. Q: What is typecasting? Give an example.
A: Converting one data type to another. Example: int('10') converts string '10' to
integer 10.
5. Q: What is the difference between a list and a tuple?
A: Lists are mutable; tuples are immutable.
6. Q: Explain the Boolean data type in Python.
A: Boolean represents True or False values, used for conditional checks.
7. Q: What are composite data types?
A: Data types made of multiple elements, e.g., list, tuple, set, dict.
8. Q: How do you declare a variable and assign a value in Python?
A: variable_name = value (e.g., x = 5).
9. Q: What is the difference between a string and a character in Python?
A: Python doesn’t have a separate character type; characters are strings of length 1.
10. Q: What happens when you try to add an integer and a string in Python?
A: It raises a TypeError since different data types cannot be added directly.

Class and Object (OOP) (15 Questions)

11. Q: What is a class in Python?

A: A blueprint for creating objects with attributes and methods.
12. Q: What is an object?
A: An instance of a class.
13. Q: Explain the difference between instance variables and class variables.
A: Instance variables belong to objects; class variables belong to the class shared by all
objects.
14. Q: What is inheritance?
A: A mechanism where a new class derives properties and behavior from an existing
class.
 15. Q: What is polymorphism?
A: The ability of different classes to respond to the same function call in different ways.
16. Q: What is encapsulation?
A: Wrapping data and methods that operate on data within a class and restricting access.
17. Q: How do you create a constructor in Python?
A: Using the __init__ method.
18. Q: What is method overriding?
A: Redefining a method in the child class that exists in the parent class.
19. Q: What are class methods and static methods?
A: Class methods receive the class as the first parameter (@classmethod), static methods
don’t receive any implicit first argument (@staticmethod).
20. Q: Explain the difference between composition and inheritance.
A: Inheritance is "is-a" relationship; composition is "has-a" relationship.
21. Q: What is the difference between self and cls?
A: self refers to the instance; cls refers to the class.
22. Q: How do you make a class attribute private?
A: Prefix it with double underscore __.
23. Q: What is multiple inheritance?
A: A class can inherit from more than one base class.
24. Q: Explain the super() function.
A: It allows calling the parent class methods in a child class.
25. Q: What is abstraction in OOP?
A: Hiding complex implementation details and showing only the necessary parts.

Stacks (10 Questions)

26. Q: What is a stack?

A: A linear data structure following Last-In-First-Out (LIFO).
27. Q: What are the basic operations of a stack?
A: Push, Pop, Peek (or Top), isEmpty.
28. Q: How can you implement a stack in Python?
A: Using a list with append() for push and pop() for pop operations.
29. Q: What is stack overflow?
A: Trying to push an element into a full stack.
30. Q: What is stack underflow?
A: Trying to pop an element from an empty stack.
31. Q: How is a stack used in function calls?
A: The call stack stores return addresses, parameters, and local variables for function
calls.
32. Q: What is the difference between stack and queue?
A: Stack is LIFO, queue is FIFO.
33. Q: How to check if parentheses in an expression are balanced using stack?
A: Push opening brackets and pop when matching closing bracket appears; if stack is
empty at end, parentheses are balanced.
 34. Q: Can you implement a stack using a linked list?
A: Yes, by inserting and deleting nodes at the head of the list.
35. Q: What is a real-world application of stacks?
A: Undo functionality in text editors.

Linked Lists (15 Questions)

36. Q: What is a linked list?

A: A linear data structure where elements (nodes) are linked using pointers.
37. Q: Differentiate between singly and doubly linked lists.
A: Singly linked list nodes point to the next node; doubly linked lists nodes point to both
next and previous nodes.
38. Q: What are the advantages of linked lists over arrays?
A: Dynamic size, ease of insertion/deletion without shifting elements.
39. Q: How do you traverse a linked list?
A: Start from the head node and follow next pointers until null.
40. Q: How to insert a node at the beginning of a linked list?
A: Create a new node and set its next pointer to current head, then update head to new
node.
41. Q: How to delete a node from a linked list?
A: Change the next pointer of the previous node to the node after the one to delete.
42. Q: What is a circular linked list?
A: The last node points back to the head, forming a circle.
43. Q: How do you detect a cycle in a linked list?
A: Use Floyd’s cycle detection algorithm with two pointers moving at different speeds.
44. Q: What is a sentinel node in linked lists?
A: A dummy node used to simplify boundary conditions.
45. Q: How do you reverse a singly linked list?
A: Iteratively change the next pointer of each node to its previous node.
46. Q: How can linked lists be used to implement stacks?
A: Push and pop operations happen at the head node.
47. Q: What is the time complexity of insertion in a linked list?
A: O(1) if inserting at the head or tail (with tail pointer); O(n) otherwise.
48. Q: How do you merge two sorted linked lists?
A: Compare nodes from both lists and build a new sorted list.
49. Q: Explain the difference between shallow copy and deep copy in linked lists.
A: Shallow copy copies references; deep copy duplicates nodes and structure.
50. Q: How is memory managed in linked lists?
A: Nodes are dynamically allocated and deallocated during insertion and deletion.