Lecture outline

review Friday material

  • math
  • type()
  • variables
  • strings
  • booleans
  • if/elif/else
  • functions

lists

  • purpose
  • initialization
  • len() review
  • accessing elements
  • adding elements
  • changing elements
  • slicing lists

tuples

  • like lists but immutable
  • can perform all the same operations except changing elements
  • strings are like tuples - can slice, access elements, can not change elements

loops and more flow control

  • for loops
  • if statements inside for loops
  • nested for loops
  • range()
  • while loops
  • infinite loops
  • if statements inside while loops
  • break
  • input()

dictionaries

  • purpose
  • initialization
  • accessing elements
  • adding elements
  • changing elements
  • keys() and values()

modules

  • purpose
  • builtins
  • imports
    • math
      • math.pi
      • math.sqrt()
    • random
      • random.randint()
      • random.choice()

###Let’s put it all together.

Walk through state_capitals.py. Copy and paste this whole file in your text editor and save it as state_capitals.py.

  • create a dictionary of states & capitals
  • import a module
  • write a while loop
  • select a random key and value from the list
  • take user input to guess state capital
  • evaluate user’s input & respond
  • allow user to end game

Practice exercises

Exercise 1 (as a class)

Write a function that simulates the roll of two standard six sided die. Save it to a file called dice_roll.py. Open a Python interpreter from that same directory and import dice_roll. Run the function inside your Python interpreter.

Exercise 2 (individual work)

Write a function that takes one argument. If the argument is a list, it returns a random item from that list - simulating drawing a person’s name from a hat. If the argument is not a list, it returns the message “The argument must be a list.” Save the file and run it inside your Python interpreter.