Python Programming for Kids

(Ages 10-16)

Organized by Devopedia. Visit https://devopedia.org

0 Installation

Install Python 3.5 or later from

https://www.python.org/download/. This installation comes with
pip, a tool to install additional Python packages. You can
upgrade pip if required:
 Windows: python -m pip install -U pip
 Linux/Mac: pip install -U pip

The code for this workshop is at https://bit.ly/ppkidscode.

Download the file. Unzip it into a folder. Let’s call this
folder ppforkids.

When working with multiple projects, managing different

versions of packages can be difficult. The recommended
procedure is to create a virtual environment for each project.
Let’s install virtualenv and create a virtual environment:
 Windows:
pip install virtualenv
cd ppforkids
virtualenv --python=python.exe venv
venv\Scripts\activate
 Linux/Mac:
sudo pip install virtualenv
cd ppforkids
virtualenv --python=python3 venv
source venv/bin/activate

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 Finally, install all dependent packages (within your virtual
environment) for this workshop:
pip install -r requirements.txt

For editing and saving code, we recommend you to install

Visual Studio Code.

1 Basics

Let's discuss the following:

a) How computers help us in everyday life?

b) Do we need to program computers and why?
c) How do computers work?
d) What is the Python programming language?

2 Constants and Variables

Karan was born on January 2012. His sister Priya was born on
February 2016.
a) How old are Karan and Priya in May 2019? How old will they
be in December 2030?
b) What's the age difference between Karan and Priya?
c) Let's model these as equations:
Age(Karan) = Current Year – 2012
Age(Priya) = Current Year – 2016
Age Difference = Age(Karan) – Age(Priya)
= (Current Year – 2012) -
(Current Year – 2016)
= 2016 – 2012 = 4
d) Let's write some Python code to compute the above. Which
are the constants and which are the variables?

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3 Temperature can be expressed in Celsius or Fahrenheit scales.
Given temperature in Celsius C, we can derive the Fahrenheit
value F using the equation F = (C × 9/5) + 32

a) Write a program that will take a Celsius value and give us

the Fahrenheit value. Which are the constants and variables
in your program?
b) Check that your program works correctly for the following:
0 C = 32 F (melting point of water)
37 C = 98.6 F (temperature of human body)
100 C = 212 F (boiling point of water)
-60 C = -76 F (coldest on Mt. Everest)
c) Can we change the program to take Fahrenheit value and give
us Celsius value?

4 If-Else

Execute the program guess_the_number.py. The program will

select a number between 1 and 50. Your job is to guess the
correct number. If your guess is wrong, the program will tell
you if your guess is lower or higher than the correct answer.

a) How many guesses do you need to guess the number correctly?

b) Is there a way to guess in fewer attempts?

Study the program and learn the following:

a) while-condition: implements a loop
b) if-elif-else: test for conditions and branch: we've used <
c) += to increment values in variables
d) exit(0) to exit the program. What happens if we remove
this?
e) Explain what is Binary Search?

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5 Flowchart

Flowcharts help us to visualize the different steps of a

program. It's a useful tool for beginners. Here's a flowchart
for the guess-the-number program.

Modify the flowchart (on pen and paper) so that we first check
if guess equals selected number. Change your program based on
a modified flowchart.

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6 Conditionals

There are many things we do in life that are

dependent on conditions. For example, we
switch on a light if it's dark. In this
example, if it's dark is the condition and
switch on a light is the action.

Sometimes there could be multiple

conditions. We switch on a light if it's
dark AND we don't want to sleep. This is an example of two
conditions that should both be True.

We want to switch off the light if it's not dark OR we're

going to sleep. This is an example of two conditions but only
one of them needs to be True.

Try running the program light_control_1.py. Note the following

facts:
a) True and True == True
b) False and True == False
c) True or True == True
d) False or True == True
e) False or False == False
f) False and False == False

7 Function

Run the code light_control_2.py. See how the conditions have

changed. Variables is_dark and is_sleepy now store True or
False instead of 'y' or 'n'.

Run the code light_control_3.py. Notice how the code is

shorter than light_control_2.py. How did we do this?

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8 List

So far we were working with numbers and strings. List is

useful because we can store many values within a single
variable. Let's make the following lists:
a) small_nums = [1, 4, 6, 9]
b) words = ['go', 'come', 'in', 'out', 'today']
c) nums_from_zero = list(range(10))
d) nums_from_one = list(range(1, 11))

Try the following:

a) Print the list: print(words)
b) Print the items one by one:
for word in words:
print(word)

9 For Loop

On pen and paper, find the sum of all even numbers from 20 to
50. How long did it take you to find the answer?

Let's now write a program so that the computer can give us the
answer quickly:
total = 0
for i in range(20, 51, 2):
total += i
print(total)

Change the program to try the following:

a) Find the sum of all 4-digit integers.
b) Find the sum of every third integer from 100 to 200.
c) Find the sum of all integers from -200 to 200.

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10 Colours

Let’s learn about colours. Any colour can be expressed as a

combination of three colours: Red, Green, Blue. By mixing
these three colours in different proportions, we get different
colours.

Each colour component R, G

or B value is in the range 0
to 255. These are decimal
values. Computers instead
commonly use hexadecimal
values. Hexadecimal system
uses base 16: 0, 1, ... , 9,
A, B, C, D, E, F. Thus, it
has 16 symbols.

Python can help us convert:

a) Decimal to Hexadecimal: hex(170)
b) Hexadecimal to decimal: int('0xAA', 16)

11 Make a Graph

We usually find it hard to

process numbers. Numbers are
easier to “see” if we draw a
graph. Graphs help us see
relationships and patterns
more easily.

Run the program marks_barchart.py. What can you make out from
the chart?

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 a) Add color=(0.1, 0.2, 0.8, 1) to plt.bar()? What happens if
1 is changed to 0.4?
b) Color can also be in hexadecimal form. Try this:
color='#ff3d3d77'
c) Change bar to barh. Change ylabel to xlabel. What happens?
d) Change the style by adding mpl.style.use('seaborn')

Execute marks_barchart_2.py. Try to understand the code. For

more information, visit https://matplotlib.org

12 Shifting and Scaling

Let’s assume we have

numbers in the range 0
to 1.

We can multiply or
divide these numbers to
get a new range. This
is called scaling.

We can add or subtract

to get another range.
This is called
shifting.

We’ll use these ideas in

calculating the value of pi or π.

Run the program find_pi.py. Note

how scaling and shifting are done
in the code.

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 How does this program find the value of π? Assume we throw
darts at the square. Assume that all darts will land within
the square. Some darts will land inside the circle. By
counting how many darts are inside the circle we can get π.

In the figure, area of circle is πr2 = π*1*1 = π. Area of

square is 2*2 = 4.
Darts inside circle / Total darts thrown
= area of circle / area of square
= π / 4
Thus, π = (Darts inside circle / Total darts thrown) * 4
= (inside_count / count) * 4

Computer scientists call this type of approach to problem

solving as Monte Carlo Simulation.

13 Hidden Word

Let’s write a program

that inserts a word
into a grid of random
letters. Your job is
to find this word
quickly. Run the
program
hidden_word.py

Try the following:

a) Use sys.argv to pass the word from command line.
b) Modify the program so that player is allowed 3 tries?
c) Print how long player took to solve the puzzle.
d) What happens when you remove random.seed in the code?
e) Discuss how you can improve this program.
f) Understand the use of class in the code.

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14 Create Art

Computer programs can be used to

create art. This example will help
you learn the basics. You can use
this knowledge to create more
imaginative art.

Run draw_art_random.py. Run this 9

times to generate 9 different
images. For each run, change the configuration slightly:
a) Change the count to a value between 50 and 1000.
b) Generate using random colours.
c) Generate using a single fixed colour but configure to any
colour of your choice.
d) Change the shape to line, rectangle, arc or pieslice.
e) Use any combination of the above.

Next, we’ll combine the 9 images generated above to make a

single image. Run make_collage.py to do this.

A more complex example for your study is the code

draw_art_pattern.py.

15 Hungry Baby

A hungry baby comes to you

for food. This baby doesn’t
drink milk. It eats only
pancakes and pizzas!

Your job is to make the

baby’s favourite foods
quickly. The more food you

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 feed the baby, the more coins you get. If the baby doesn’t get
food fast enough, it cries and you lose coins.

In this game, you produce food for the baby and put it on a
plate. The baby consumes food from the plate. Computer
scientists call this type of problem the Producer-Consumer
Problem.

How many items can you feed the baby? Run the program
hungry_baby.py to find out. Answer the following questions:
a) How many coins do you have when the game starts?
b) How does the baby choose what to eat next?
c) Once fed, how long does the baby wait before crying again?
You can increase this if the game is too fast for you.
d) When the baby is fed, how many coins do you earn?
e) When or how does this game end?

16 Conway’s Game of Life

In this game, a cell evolves

based on the neighbouring cells.
If a cell has < 2 or > 3 active
cells next to it, it dies. If a
cell has 2 or 3 active cells next
to it, it lives. If an empty
space is surrounded by 3 cells, a
new cell is born is that space.

Run the program conway_game_of_life.py to see how the game

proceeds. Study the code and see if you can explain it. Can
you apply this game to real life?

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17 Tetris

This is a famous game created in 1984 by

Alexey Pajitnov in Moscow, Soviet Union.
Our code of this game uses PyGame, a useful
Python package for creating games. While so
far we’ve been creating applications on
Command Line Interface (CLI), this is the
first application we’ll create with a
Graphical User Interface (GUI).

Run the program tetris.py. Play this game

and understand how it works. Try the
following in code:
a) Change the background colour to white. Change the colour of
the pieces.
b) Add extra rows to the puzzle.
c) Make the game run faster.
d) What do you understand by the term FPS? What happens if
maxfps is set to a low value?
e) Keep track of how many rows you have completed
successfully. Display this when the game ends. Change the
code to display this score during the game.
f) You learned about shifting and scaling earlier. In Tetris
game, study the code to learn how shapes are rotated.

PyGame documentation is available at

https://www.pygame.org/docs/

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18 Worksheet for Students

To continue learning, try the following:

a) Take any formula from your Mathematics or Physics textbook

and implement them as Python code. For example, take the
equation of a parabola: y = 4x2 + 1. For a range of values
of x, print the values of x and y.

b) Plot the above equation as a line

graph using Matplotlib. Note that
to get a smooth curve, x should
not be limited to integers. Use
this as reference:
https://matplotlib.org/users/pyplot_tutorial.html

c) Take your school mark sheet for last year. Use Matplotlib
to plot a suitable graph of the marks.

d) Look at this sequence of squares: 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36...

Notice that this sequence is actually squares of integers:
12, 22, 32, 42, 52, 62... Write code to find the sum of
squares of first 50 integers. To square an integer x in
Python, we can write x*x or x**2.

e) Hidden word: recall that we wrote this code where a single

word is hidden in the puzzle. Can you update the code so
that three words of your choice can be hidden in the same
puzzle? Can you update the code so that words can also go
bottom-to-top or right-to-left order.

f) The Tetris code was written using functions. Can you

rewrite the code using classes and objects? Study other
examples (Hidden Word or Hungry Baby) to learn how to write

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 code using classes and objects. Computer scientists call
this object-oriented programming.

g) On paper, create simple art using only geometric shapes

(square, rectangle, circle and ellipse). Now attempt to
draw the same by writing a Python program.

h) Solving a maze is an interesting problem for programmers.

Study the code at
https://gist.github.com/a613/49d65dc30e98c165d567 and see
if you can improve it. Or you can try to implement it in
PyGame.

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