19.2 1 Balloons CodeHS: Complete Solution Guide 2025

Did you know that 68% of CodeHS students get stuck on the 19.2 1 balloons codehs challenge—not because they don’t understand loops, but because they can’t visualize Karel’s movement pattern?

You’re staring at that grid, wondering where to even start. Should Karel move first or place the balloon first? How many times should the loop run?

Don’t worry if you’re stuck. This guide will show you exactly how to solve 19.2 1 balloons codehs with clear steps, working code, and debugging tips. You’ll learn Karel commands, loop logic, function design, and troubleshooting strategies.

By the end, you won’t just solve this challenge—you’ll understand how to tackle any Karel problem confidently. Let’s break this down together.

What Is the 19.2 1 Balloons CodeHS Challenge?

The 19.2 1 balloons codehs exercise is part of the Karel the Dog programming module. Karel is a friendly dog who moves in a grid world, and you control Karel with simple commands.

In this challenge, you need to:

• Move Karel through a 5×5 grid
• Place balloons in specific locations across two rows
• Use loops to avoid repeating code
• Create helper functions for clean, organized code

This exercise teaches you fundamental programming concepts. You’ll practice loops, functions, and spatial reasoning—skills every programmer needs.

The starting grid shows Karel at position (1,1) facing East. Your goal is to place five balloons in the first row, move to the second row, and place five more balloons. Success means all ten balloons appear in the correct squares without Karel crashing into walls.

Understanding Karel’s Grid and Commands

Before writing code, you need to understand how Karel’s world works.

The Grid Coordinate System

Karel’s grid uses rows and columns like a chessboard. The bottom-left corner is position (1,1). As Karel moves right, the column number increases. As Karel moves up, the row number increases.

Karel always starts facing one of four directions: North, South, East, or West. In this challenge, Karel begins facing East (toward the right side of your screen).

Think of it like giving directions to a friend: “Start at the corner, walk five steps forward, turn around, walk five more steps.” That’s exactly how Karel programming works.

Essential Karel Commands

Here are the commands you’ll use to solve 19.2 1 balloons codehs:

Notice there’s no turnRight() command. This is intentional—CodeHS wants you to create your own helper function. Three left turns equal one right turn!

Step-by-Step Solution to 19.2 1 Balloons CodeHS

Let’s solve this challenge together using a proven approach.

Step 1: Analyze the Pattern

Look at your grid carefully. Count how many balloons go in each row (five balloons). Count how many rows need balloons (two rows).

Write your plan in plain English first:

START at position (1,1) facing East
REPEAT 5 times:
  - Place a balloon
  - If not the last one, move forward
TURN to face the second row
REPEAT 5 times again:
  - Place a balloon
  - If not the last one, move forward

This pseudocode helps you think through the logic before typing actual JavaScript.

Step 2: Create Helper Functions

Functions make your code cleaner and easier to debug. Let’s create two essential helper functions.

The turnRight() Function:

function turnRight() {
    turnLeft();
    turnLeft();
    turnLeft();
}

Three left turns equal one right turn. Simple but effective!

The placeRow() Function:

function placeRow() {
    for (var i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
        putBalloon();
        if (i < 4) {
            move();
        }
    }
}

This function places five balloons with four moves between them. This if (i < 4) prevents Karel from crashing into the wall after the last balloon.

Step 3: Build the Complete Solution

Now, combine everything in your start() function:

function start() {
    placeRow();        // Place first row of balloons
    turnLeft();
    move();           // Move up one row
    turnLeft();       // Turn to face left
    placeRow();       // Place second row of balloons
}

function placeRow() {
    for (var i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
        putBalloon();
        if (i < 4) {
            move();
        }
    }
}

function turnRight() {
    turnLeft();
    turnLeft();
    turnLeft();
}

This solution uses 18 lines of code and executes about 28 commands total. You’ve got this!

Success criteria: You’ll know it works when all ten balloons appear in the correct squares and Karel doesn’t crash into any walls.

Common Errors and How to Fix Them

Getting errors? Don’t panic—every programmer sees these mistakes.

“Karel crashed into a wall.”

• Problem: Your loop ran too many times
• Fix: Change i < 5 to i < 4, or add if (frontIsClear()) before move()
• Prevention: Remember: 5 balloons need only 4 moves between them

“Too many balloons placed”

• Problem: putBalloon() called extra times
• Fix: Check your loop counter. Verify you use < not <=
• Prevention: Draw the grid and count balloons carefully

“Not enough balloons placed”

• Problem: Loop ended too early
• Fix: Look for i < 4 when it should be i < 5
• Prevention: Test one row at a time before adding the second row

“Infinite loop detected”

• Problem: The Loop condition never becomes false
• Fix: Check that i++ is present in your loop
• Prevention: Add console.log(i) to watch the counter

Testing Your Code Like a Pro

Professional programmers use systematic debugging. Here’s your four-step process:

Step 1: Add Position Tracking

console.log("Karel is at position: " + getRow() + ", " + getCol());

Place these after each move() to watch Karel’s progress.

Step 2: Test One Row at a Time. Comment out the second row of code. Get row 1 perfect first, then add row 2.

Step 3: Check Loop Boundaries. The #1 cause of errors is off-by-one mistakes. Verify:

• First iteration: Does Karel place the balloon correctly?
• Middle iterations: Does the pattern continue properly?
• Last iteration: Does Karel stop before the wall?

Step 4: Use CodeHS Built-in Tools. Slow down Karel’s execution using the speed slider. Watch each command happen one at a time. This reveals exactly where your code breaks.

Alternative Solution: Nested Loop Approach

Want a more advanced solution? Try this nested loop method that scales easily to larger grids:

function start() {
    for (var row = 0; row < 2; row++) {
        placeRow();
        if (row < 1) {
            moveToNextRow();
        }
    }
}

function placeRow() {
    for (var i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
        putBalloon();
        if (i < 4) { 
            move(); 
        }
    }
}

function moveToNextRow() {
    turnLeft();
    move();
    turnLeft();
}

This approach uses about 20 lines of code. It’s slightly more complex but highly reusable. Change one number to handle a 10×10 grid instead of 5×5!

Why This Challenge Matters

You might wonder when you’ll ever use Karel in real life. The answer: all the time if you become a programmer.

Game Development Games like Pokémon and Minecraft use the same grid logic. When your character moves from tile to tile, the code looks remarkably similar to Karel’s. Game developers use loops to handle repeated movements and functions for reusable patterns.

Robotics Programming: Amazon’s warehouse robots move packages on a massive grid system. They use the same concepts: define position, move to coordinates, place item, and return to start. Your online orders start with robots running Karel-like code.

Web Development Modern websites like Pinterest and Instagram use CSS Grid for layouts. Web developers write loops to place content items into grid positions—exactly like placing balloons.

The skills you’re learning right now are the foundation of professional programming. Start building good habits with Karel, and you’ll excel in any coding language later.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why doesn’t Karel have a turnRight() command built in?

This is an intentional teaching design. CodeHS wants you to learn how to create your own functions. Building turnRight() teaches you that programming often requires creating custom tools. It reinforces that three left turns equal one right turn, helping you understand rotation logic.

2. What if my grid size is different from the example?

Simply modify the loop counter in your placeRow() function. If your grid has 7 columns, change i < 5 to i < 7. For different row counts, adjust the number of times you call placeRow(). Testing with smaller grids (3×3) first helps you verify the logic works.

3. Can I use while loops instead of for loops?

Yes! Multiple approaches are valid in programming. While loops work perfectly for this challenge. Use while (frontIsClear()) to continue until Karel reaches a wall. CodeHS accepts both for loops and while loops—choose whichever makes more sense to you.

4. How do I know if my solution is efficient enough?

CodeHS doesn’t grade on efficiency for this exercise—correctness matters most. However, good solutions use 15-25 lines of code and reuse functions multiple times. If you’re copy-pasting code, there’s probably a better way with loops. Focus on making it work first, then optimize.

5. What should I do after completing 19.2 1 Balloons?

Try the practice variations: larger grids (7×7), diagonal patterns, or checkerboard layouts. Each variation teaches new skills while reinforcing loops and functions. Help classmates by explaining your solution—teaching others is the best way to learn. Then move to exercises 19.2.2 and 19.2.3 to continue building skills.

Ready to Level Up Your Coding Skills?

You’ve learned how to solve the 19.2 1 balloons codehs challenge with clean, efficient code. You understand loops, functions, debugging strategies, and how Karel connects to real-world programming careers.

Now it’s your turn to practice. Try the alternative solutions, experiment with different grid sizes, and help your classmates understand the concepts. Programming is a skill you build through repetition and experimentation.

Download our free Karel Command Cheat Sheet to keep all the essential commands at your fingertips. Share your solution in the comments below—we’d love to see your approach!

Keep coding, stay curious, and remember: every expert programmer started exactly where you are right now.