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Logic
Boolean Values
The boolean type has only two values: True and False . Let's assign a boolean value to a variable and verify
the type using the built-in function type() :

python_is_fun = True
print(python_is_fun)

True

type(python_is_fun)

bool

Let's assign the value False to a variable and again verify the type:

math_is_scary = False
print(math_is_scary)

False

type(math_is_scary)

bool

Comparison Operators
Comparison operators produce Boolean values as output. For example, if we have variables x and y with
numeric values, we can evaluate the expression x < y and the result is a boolean value either True or
False .
Comparison Operator Description

< strictly less than

<= less than or equal

> strictly greater than

>= greater than or equal

== equal

!= not equal

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For example:
1 == 2

False

1 < 2

True

2 == 2

True

3 != 3.14159

True hu

20.00000000001 >= 20

True

Boolean Operators
We combine logical expressions using boolean operators and , or and not .
Boolean Operator Description

A and B returns True if both A and B are True

A or B returns True if either A or B is True not A

returns True if A is False For example:

(1 < 2) and (3 != 5)

True

(1 < 2) and (3 < 1)

False

(1 < 2) or (3 < 1)

True

not (1000 <= 999)

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( )

True

if statements
An if statement consists of one or more blocks of code such that only one block is executed depending on
logical expressions. Let's do an example:

# Determine if roots of polynomial ax^2 + bx + c = 0

# are real, repeted or complex using the
# quadratic formula x = (-b \pm \sqrt{b^2 - 4ac})/2a
a = 10 b = -234 c = 1984 discriminant = b**2 - 4*a*c
if discriminant > 0:
print("Discriminant =", discriminant)
print("Roots are real and distinct.")
elif discriminant < 0:
print("Discriminant =", discriminant)
print("Roots are complex") else:
print("Discriminant =", discriminant)
print("Roots are real and repeated")

Discriminant = -24604
Roots are complex

The main points to observe are:

1. Start with the if keyword.

2. Write a logical expression (returning True or False ).
3. End line with a colon : .
4. Indent block 4 spaces after if statement.
5. Include elif and else statements if needed.
6. Only one of the blocks if , elif and else is executed.
7. The block following an else statement will execute only if all other logical expressions before it are
False .

Examples
Invertible Matrix
Represent a 2 by 2 square matrix as a list of lists. For example, represent the matrix
[

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2 −1] 5 7

as the list of lists [[2,-1],[5,7]] .

Write a function called invertible which takes an input parameter M , a list of lists representing a 2 by 2
matrix, and returns True if the matrix M is invertible and False if not.

def invertible(M):
'''Determine if M is invertible.

Parameters
----------
M : list of lists
Representation of a 2 by 2 matrix M = [[a,b],[c,d]].

Returns ------ bool True if M

is invertible and False if not.

Examples
--------
>>> invertible([[1,2],[3,4]])
True
'''
# A matrix M is invertible if and only if
# the determinant is not zero where # det(M) =
ad - bc for M = [[a,b],[c,d]] determinant = M[0][0]
* M[1][1] - M[0][1] * M[1][0] if determinant != 0:
return True
else: return
False

Let's test our function:

invertible([[1,2],[3,4]])

True

invertible([[1,1],[3,3]])

False

Concavity of a Polynomial
Write a function called concave_up which takes input parameters p and a where p is a list
representing a polynomial p(x) and a is a number, and returns True if the function p(x) is concave
up at x = a (ie. its second derivative is positive at x = a, p′′(a) > 0).
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We'll use the second derivative test for polynomials. In particular, if we have a polynomial of degree n

p(x) = c0 + c1x + c2x2 + ⋯ + cnxn

then the second derivative of p(x) at x = a is the sum p′′(a) = 2(1)c2 + 3(2)c3a +
4(3)c4a2 + ⋯ + n(n − 1)cnan−2

def concave_up(p,a):
'''Determine if the polynomial p(x) is concave up at x=a.

Parameters
----------
p : list of numbers
List [a_0,a_1,a_2,...,a_n] represents the polynomial
p(x) = a_0 + a_1*x + a_2*x**2 + ... + a_n*x**n

Returns
------ bool
True if p(x) is concave up at x=a (ie. p''(a) > 0) and False otherwise.

Examples
--------
>>> concave_up([1,0,-2],0)
False
>>> concave_up([1,0,2],0)
True
'''
# Degree of the polynomial p(x)
degree = len(p) - 1

# p''(a) == 0 if degree of p(x) is less than 2

if degree < 2: return False else:
# Compute the second derivative p''(a)
DDp_a = sum([k*(k-1)*p[k]*a**(k-2) for k in range(2,degree + 1)])
if DDp_a > 0: return True else:
return False
= 1 + x − x3 at x = 2. Since p′′(x) = −6x and p′′(2) = −12 < 0,
Let's test our function on p(x)
the polynomial is concave down at x = 2.

p = [1,1,0,-1] a = 2
concavity = concave_up(p,a)
print(concavity)

False

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Exercises
1. The discriminant of a cubic polynomial p(x) = ax3 + bx2 + cx + d is

Δ = b2c2 − 4ac3 − 4b3d − 27a2d2 + 18abcd

The discriminant gives us information about the roots of the polynomial p(x):

if Δ > 0, then p(x) has 3 distinct real roots if Δ < 0, then

p(x) has 2 distinct complex roots and 1 real root
if Δ = 0, then p(x) has at least 2 (real or complex) roots which are the same

Represent a cubic polynomial p(x) = ax3 + bx2 + cx + d as a list [d,c,b,a] of numbers.

(Note the order of the coe cients is increasing degree.) For example, the polynomial p(x) =
x3 − x + 1 is [1,-1,0,1] .
Write a function called cubic_roots which takes an input parameter p , a list of length 4
representing a cubic polynomial, and returns True if p(x) has 3 real distinct roots and False
otherwise.

2. Represent a 2 by 2 square matrix as a list of lists. For example, represent the matrix

$$
[ 2
−1]

5 7
$$

as the list of lists [[2,-1],[5,7]] . Write a function called inverse_a which takes an input
parameter a and returns a list of lists representing the inverse of the matrix

$$
[ 1
a]

a −1
$$
3. Write a function called real_eigenvalues which takes an input parameter M , a list of lists
representing a 2 by 2 matrix (as in the previous exercise), and returns True if the eigenvalues of the
matrix M are real numebrs and False if not.

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