Handout: Python Reader
Handout: Python Reference
This is a collection of bonus programs! They are meant to be challenging. They are not listed in order of difficulty, so choose whichever programs sound interesting!
credit: Mehran Sahami, Keith Schwarz, Eric Roberts, Marty Stepp, and others.
file: conversion.py
America uses a confusing measurement system where units of length are measured in inches, feet, yards and miles. There are twelve inches in a foot and three feet in a yard. However, when doing scientific measurements, it is important to use centimeters, meters, and kilometers since these units of measurement are used worldwide. Write a program that converts from centimeters to inches given that there are 2.54 centimeters in 1 inch. Below is some sample output from the program. The program should stop when the user enters -1 for the number of centimeters.
This program can convert centimeters to inches
Enter cm: 2.54
2.54 centimeters equals 1.0 inches
Enter cm: 68
68.0 centimeters equals 26.771653543307085 inches
Enter cm: 100
100.0 centimeters equals 39.37007874015748 inches
Enter cm: -1
You can now write a program to convert any kind of units that you want!
credit: Mehran Sahami, Keith Schwarz, Eric Roberts, Marty Stepp, and others.
file: fizzbuzz.py
Fizzbuzz is a classic coding problem.
In the game Fizz Buzz, players take turns counting up from one. If a player’s turn lands on a number that’s divisible by 3, they should say “Fizz” instead of the number, and if it lands on a number that’s divisible by 5, they should say “Buzz” instead of the number. If the number is both a multiple of 3 and of 5, they should say "Fizzbuzz" instead of the number. A spectator sport, it is not. What it is, however, is an interesting problem in control flow.
Write a program that counts up to and including 100, fizzing and buzzing the correct numbers along the way. Here's part of a sample run of the program:
1
2
Fizz
4
Buzz
Fizz
7
8
Fizz
Buzz
11
Fizz
13
14
...
In order to solve the hailstone problem, we are going to need as way to determine if an integer is a multiple of another integer. In addition to the regular operators that you know and love (like +, -, *, and /) programming languages provide a remainder operator: %.
a % b
returns the value remaining when you divide a by b. For example, 10 % 3 is 1 because when you divide 10 by 3 you get 3 with 1 left over. And when you divide any number by 2, the remainder is 0 if the number is even and 1 if the number is odd. How can we use this to check if one number is a multiple of another?
credit: Mehran Sahami, Keith Schwarz, Eric Roberts, Marty Stepp, and others.
file: piglet.py
Write a console program for a 1-player dice game called "Piglet", based on the game "Pig". The player's goal is to get as many points as possible without rolling a 1. Each turn, the player rolls the die; if they roll a 1, the game ends and the player gets a score of 0. If the player rolls any number besides a 1, that number is added to their score. The player then chooses whether to roll again or end the game with their current score. Two sample game outputs are shown below.
Welcome to Piglet!
You rolled a 4!
Roll again? yes
You rolled a 5!
Roll again? yes
You rolled a 5!
Roll again? yes
You rolled a 4!
Roll again? yes
You rolled a 3!
Roll again? no
You got 21 points.
Welcome to Piglet!
You rolled a 5!
Roll again? yes
You rolled a 2!
Roll again? yes
You rolled a 4!
Roll again? yes
You rolled a 1!
You got 0 points.