Library › Coding AI › College students

Understand why a loop with setTimeout prints 3, 3, 3

Practice: Asking for a format you can use. About 5 minutes.

About this exercise

Your web dev lab code prints 3 three times instead of 0, 1, 2. Ask for exactly 3 numbered lines labeled 'Prints:', 'Why:' and 'Question:', each under 25 words. 'Why:' must explain that var gives the whole function one shared i, and 'Question:' must ask something you can test by changing one keyword, without giving the answer. No code blocks, under 75 words.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Getting the answer to the lab question. The AI writes a full explanation you could paste into Lab question 4. Try: Say: "Three short labeled lines; end with a question for me, not the answer."
  • No labels. Without labels, the output, the reason and the next step blur together. Try: Give them: "Prints:, Why:, Question:".
  • A vague why. The AI says 'closures' without saying what's shared. Try: Ask: "Why: what var does to i across the loop."
  • Code you didn't want. The AI shows the let version in a code block. Try: Add: "No code blocks or corrected code."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Gives the labels
  • Sets the number of lines
  • Asks for a question back
  • Rules out code
  • Caps each line

Practice this now ↑

Related exercises