Problem: Absolute-Position Centering inside a Padded Container

Medium
30 min
Try to center an absolutely positioned element within a padded container using percentage offsets and CSS transforms.

Problem description

An .outer container is relatively positioned with 2rem padding and contains an absolutely positioned .inner box of 100×50px. The task is to center the .inner box within the content box of the .outer, ignoring padding.

Goal

Place the .inner box at the geometric center of .outer’s content area regardless of padding.

Constraints

Use only CSS; you cannot alter the HTML or add scripts.

Sample visual output

Here’s what the output would look like:

Good luck trying the problem! If you’re unsure how to proceed, check the Solution.

Problem: Absolute-Position Centering inside a Padded Container

Medium
30 min
Try to center an absolutely positioned element within a padded container using percentage offsets and CSS transforms.

Problem description

An .outer container is relatively positioned with 2rem padding and contains an absolutely positioned .inner box of 100×50px. The task is to center the .inner box within the content box of the .outer, ignoring padding.

Goal

Place the .inner box at the geometric center of .outer’s content area regardless of padding.

Constraints

Use only CSS; you cannot alter the HTML or add scripts.

Sample visual output

Here’s what the output would look like:

Good luck trying the problem! If you’re unsure how to proceed, check the Solution.