Question

function getInfo(member, year) {
  member.name = 'Lydia';
  year = '1998';
}

const person = { name: 'Sarah' };
const birthYear = '1997';

getInfo(person, birthYear);

console.log(person, birthYear);

• A: { name: "Lydia" }, "1997"
• B: { name: "Sarah" }, "1998"
• C: { name: "Lydia" }, "1998"
• D: { name: "Sarah" }, "1997"

Answer 1

Answer: A

Arguments are passed by value, unless their value is an object, then they're passed by reference. birthYear is passed by value, since it's a string, not an object. When we pass arguments by value, a copy of that value is created (see question 46).

The variable birthYear has a reference to the value "1997". The argument year also has a reference to the value "1997", but it's not the same value as birthYear has a reference to. When we update the value of year by setting year equal to "1998", we are only updating the value of year. birthYear is still equal to "1997".

The value of person is an object. The argument member has a (copied) reference to the same object. When we modify a property of the object member has a reference to, the value of person will also be modified, since they both have a reference to the same object. person's name property is now equal to the value "Lydia"