Python Programming Fundamentals (Weeks 1-5)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key Python concepts, data types, operators, functions, conditional logic, list operations, and loops up through Week 5.

Strings (str)

Any text enclosed in single, double, or triple quotes.

Integers (int)

Whole numbers without decimal places, which can be positive, negative, or zero (such as $42$, $-1$, or $0$).

Floats (float)

Numbers that contain a decimal point (such as $3.1415$ or $-12.5$).

Booleans (bool)

Logical true or false statements represented simply as True or False.

type()

A built-in function used to inspect what type a value or variable is.

print()

A function that displays text or values to the screen, defaulting to sep=' ' and end='\n'.

input()

A function that prompts the user to type something in, which Python always reads as a string (str).

int()

A type conversion function that converts values to whole numbers.

float()

A type conversion function that converts values to decimals.

str()

Converts numbers or other objects back into text so they can be concatenated with other strings.

Concatenation

Joining strings together using the + operator.

String Indexing

The position of characters in a string starting at index $0$, where negative indices count backward and $-1$ represents the very last character.

String Slicing

Extracting a sub-portion of text using the format string[start:stop:step], where the start position is included and the stop position is excluded.

Arithmetic Operators

Standard math operations including addition (+), subtraction (-), multiplication (), standard division (/), floor division (//), modulo (%), and exponentiation (*).

Floor Division (//)

An arithmetic operator that divides numbers and drops the decimal.

Modulo (%)

An arithmetic operator that gives the remainder of a division.

Exponentiation (**)

An arithmetic operator used to raise a number to a power.

Comparison Operators

Operators used to compare two values, yielding a Boolean (True or False), including ==, !=, >,

Short-Circuit Evaluation

The evaluation process in combined logical expressions using and or or from left to right, skipping the rest if the outcome is guaranteed by the left expression.

if Statement

The initial condition Python evaluates in conditional logic.

elif Statement

Additional checks in conditional logic that Python evaluates only if the preceding conditions were False.

else Statement

The catch-all block in conditional logic that runs if none of the preceding conditions were met.

Conditional Execution Flow

The order of evaluation where Python checks each branch from top to bottom, executes the code block as soon as one evaluates to True, and skips the rest.

Lists

Ordered, customizable collections that store multiple items under a single variable name.

List Indexing & Slicing

Operations on lists that work identically to strings, using syntax like list[0], list[-1], and list[start:stop].

.append(value)

A list method that adds an item to the end of a list.

.insert(index, value)

A list method that places an item at a specific position in a list.

.pop(index)

A list method that removes and returns an item from a list at a given index.

.remove(value)

A list method that removes the first matching item found in a list.

len()

A built-in helper function that finds the total count of elements in a list or collection.

sum()

A built-in helper function that adds numeric elements together in a collection.

max()

A built-in helper function that finds the highest value in a collection.

min()

A built-in helper function that finds the lowest value in a collection.

Membership Checks

Operations using the in and not in keywords to check whether an item exists inside a list.

for Loops

Loops used to repeat a block of code a specific number of times (using range()) or to iterate through every item in a list or characters in a string.

while Loops

Loops that keep repeating a block of code continuously as long as a specified logical condition remains True.

Primitive Data Types

Fundamental data categories in Python that tell the computer what kind of information a value represents.

Default Separator (sep)

The print() function parameter that places a space (sep=' ') between items by default.

Default End Character (end)

The print() function parameter that automatically adds a new line (end='\n') at the end of output.

Type Casting Requirement

The requirement to convert string inputs from input() using functions like int() or float() before performing mathematical calculations.