Purpose: Confirms readiness for Unit 2. Mostly tests Unit 1 concepts (loops, conditionals, basic functions) and basic logical reasoning about collections of data.
Question 1 — Loop fluency
Write a single Python loop that prints the multiples of 5 from 5 to 50, inclusive.
Question 2 — Mental model
Imagine a row of seven mailboxes, each containing one number: 3, 7, 1, 9, 4, 2, 8. Without code, describe in plain English how you would find the largest number, scanning left to right.
Question 3 — Indexing concept
If a list contains 10 items, what is the index of the first item, and what is the index of the last item (in Python's zero-based system)?
Question 4 — Decomposition with structured data
A school has a roster of students. For each student, you know their name, ID number, and three quiz marks. List the steps a program would need to (a) compute the average quiz mark for each student, and (b) report the student with the highest average.
Question 5 — Functions
Write a function maximum(a, b, c) that returns the largest of three numbers. (Don't worry about ties.)
Question 6 — Reading code
What does this function do, in plain English (one sentence)?
def mystery(s):
n = 0
for ch in s:
if ch == "a":
n += 1
return n
Question 7 — Real-world thinking
Name three distinct kinds of real-world data that have a natural list structure (e.g., grocery list, queue at a checkout). Then name three kinds that have a natural key-value structure (e.g., dictionary look-up).
Question 8 — Reflection
Looking at Unit 1, which topic do you feel weakest in (loops, conditionals, types, I/O, tracing)? What specifically confuses you?