21/01/2021 PHY 3032 Chapter 1 - Introduction to Python 3 Fundamentals

Printing Numbers

The print() function outputs to the screen whatever you put between the parentheses.

Print the integer 7 .

In [1]: print(7)

Print the floating point number 3.14

In [2]: print(3.14)

3.14

You can have more than one print() statement in a cell.

Print out numbers 100 and 3.14 using different print() functions on different lines in the same cell.

In [3]: print(100)
print(3.14)

100
3.14

Print out numbers 100 and 3.14 using different print() functions on the same line in the same cell.

In [4]: print(100) ; print(3.14)

100
3.14

Printing very large numbers in Python 3 is mostly done using scientific notation .

Print out radius of earth : 6371000 meters.

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In [5]: print(6371000)

6371000

Print out radius of earth : 6 371 000 meters using underscores to increase readability.

In [6]: print(6_371_000)

6371000

Print out radius of earth : 6.371 × 106 meters in scientific notation.

In [7]: print(6.371e6)

6371000.0

Print out earth sun distance : 149600000000 meters.

In [8]: print(149600000000)

149600000000

Print out earth sun distance : 149 600 000 000 meters using underscores to improve readability.

In [9]: print(149_600_000_000)

149600000000

Print out earth sun distance : 1.496 × 1011 meters in scientific notation.

In [10]: print(1.496e11)

149600000000.0

Print out mass of earth : 5.972 × 10

24
kg in scientific notation.

In [11]: print(5.972e24)

5.972e+24

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Print out mass of our moon : 7.34767309 × 10

22
kg in scientific notation.

In [12]: print(7.34767309e22)

7.34767309e+22

Print out mass of our sun : 1.989 × 1030 kg in scientific notation.

In [13]: print(1.989e30)

1.989e+30

Printing small numbers in Python 3.

Print out 0.00000458

In [14]: print(0.00000458)

4.58e-06

Print out 0.000 004 58

In [15]: print(0.000_004_58)

4.58e-06

Print out 4.58 × 10−6 in scientific notation

In [16]: print(4.58e-6)

4.58e-06

Print out proton mass : 1.6726219 × 10−27 in kg

In [17]: print(1.6726219e-27)

1.6726219e-27

Print out electron mass : 9.1093837015 × 10

−31
in kg

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In [18]: print(9.1093837015e-31)

9.1093837015e-31

Printing Strings

A string is a collection of characters. To print strings in Python 3, you need to enclose the string or text in
single or double quotation marks.

Print the string "Hello"

In [19]: print("Hello")

Hello

Print the string 'Hello'

In [20]: print('Hello')

Hello

Printing a string with unmatched quotation marks generates a SyntaxError .

In [21]: print('Hello")

File "<ipython-input-21-0779651877b1>", line 1

print('Hello")
^
SyntaxError: EOL while scanning string literal

In [22]: print("Hello')

File "<ipython-input-22-21f0c5b97628>", line 1

print("Hello')
^
SyntaxError: EOL while scanning string literal

Printing a multi-word string "Hello World" .

In [23]: print("Hello World")

Hello World

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Printing a multi-word string 'Hello World' .

In [24]: print('Hello World')

Hello World

Python as a Calculator

To add two numbers, just use + operator.

In [25]: print(7+9)

16

Python 3 ignores whitespaces . Whitespaces make Python code more readable.

In [26]: print(7 + 9)

16

In [27]: print( 7 + 9 )

16

In [28]: print ( 7 + 9 )

16

You can use the - sign to subtract numbers.

In [29]: print( 20 - 8 )

12

In [30]: print( 8 - 20 )

-12

You can use the * sign to multiply two or more numbers.

In [31]: print( 20 * 8 )

160

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In [32]: print( 8 * 20 )

160

Python 3 understands associativity in multiplication.

In [33]: print( 2 * 3 * 5 )
print( 3 * 2 * 5 )
print( 2 * 5 * 3 )
print( 5 * 2 * 3 )
print( 5 * 3 * 2 )

30
30
30
30
30

To divide two numbers, use / sign.

In [34]: print( 20 / 5 )
print( 5 / 20 )
print( -20 / 4 )
print( -18 / -6 )

4.0
0.25
-5.0
3.0

You can carry out integer division using // sign. The decimal part is discarded

In [35]: print( 20 / 7 )

2.857142857142857

In [36]: print( 20 // 7 )

You use the ** to use a number to the power of another number.

Print out 2 raised to the power 3 .

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In [37]: print( 2 ** 3 )

Print out 5 raised to the power 2 .

In [38]: print( 5 ** 2 )

25

Print out 25 raised to the power 0.5 .

In [39]: print( 25 ** 0.5 )

5.0

To obtain the remainder of a division operation , use the the % sign.

Print out the remainder of 20 divide by 7 .

In [40]: print( 20 % 7 )

Print out the remainder of 10 divide by 3 .

In [41]: print( 10 % 3 )

The remainder operation gives trivial results when you divide a small number by a big number. The remainder is
always the small number.

Print out the remainder of 3 divide by 10 .

In [42]: print( 3 % 10 )

Print out the remainder of 6 divide by 20 .

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In [43]: print( 6 % 20 )

Like on a calculator, parentheses () can be used to priotize calculations.

In [44]: print( 1 + 2 * 3 )

In [45]: print( (1 + 2) * 3)

Parentheses can also be used to improve the readability of Python code.

In [46]: print( 1 + (2 * 3) )

Comments
Python 3 ignores lines of code starting with a # sign, so they can be used to add notes or comments to the
code.

A # can also be used in the middle of a line. In this case, Python ignores everything on the line after the #

Create a Python 3 comment

In [47]: # This is a comment

Create a comment followed by Python 3 code

In [48]: # This is a good comment

print( 3 + 7 )

10

Create a comment lined side by side with Python 3 code

In [49]: print( 3 + 7 ) # This is a good comment

10

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Create a bad comment that ends up commenting out the Python 3 code

In [50]: # This is a bad comment print( 3 + 7 )

Create a misleading comment that comes after Python 3 code

In [51]: print( 3 + 7 )
# This is a misleading comment

10

Variables
Variables are used to store values for later use. Storing a value in a variable is called variable
declaration or variable assignment . You must declare a variable in Python 3 before you can use its
value.

Create a variable pi

In [52]: pi = 3.141592654

Print out variable pi

In [53]: print(pi)

3.141592654

Trying to use a variable before it is given a value, results in a Python 3 NameError .

Print out variable radius .

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In [54]: print(radius)

---------------------------------------------------------------------
------
NameError Traceback (most recent call
last)
<ipython-input-54-eac3aa7f4c08> in <module>
----> 1 print(radius)

NameError: name 'radius' is not defined

Create variable radius and assign it a value of 10 .

In [55]: radius = 10

Print out variable radius .

In [56]: print(radius)

10

Variables can be used in calculations. The value of the variable will be used for the compuation of the result.

Print out the area of a circle using the values stored in pi and radius

In [57]: print( pi * radius ** 2)

314.1592654

The value of a variable can be changed. This is called a variable reassignment . When a variable is
reassigned, its previous value is overwritten or lost.

Store a value of 5.5 in variable radius .

In [58]: radius = 5.5

Print out the new value stored in variable radius .

In [59]: print(radius)

5.5

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Print out the new area of a circle using the values stored in pi and radius

In [60]: print( pi * radius ** 2)

95.03317778350001

Store area in Area

In [61]: Area = pi * radius ** 2

Print out variable Area

In [62]: print(Area)

95.03317778350001

Variables can also store string and integer values.

Create a variable first_name

In [63]: first_name = "Mike"

Print out variable first_name .

In [64]: print(first_name)

Mike

Create a variable surname

In [65]: surname = "Price"

Print out variable surname .

In [66]: print(surname)

Price

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Create variable age .

In [67]: age = 34 # in years

Print out variable age .

In [68]: print(age)

34

Multi-word variables can be created by connecting the words with an underscore _ character

Create a variable electron_mass in units of kilograms

In [69]: electron_mass = 9.10938356e-31 # in kg

Print out variable electron_mass .

In [70]: print(electron_mass)

9.10938356e-31

Variables can store True or False values. In Python 3, True or False values are called Booleans .

Create variable answer holding a value of True

In [71]: answer = True

Print out variable answer .

In [72]: print(answer)

True

Re-assign variable answer with False .

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In [73]: answer = False

Print out variable answer .

In [74]: print(answer)

False

Basic Data Types in Python 3

Data types are how you classify variables in Python 3. The basic data type available in Python 3 are
integers , floats , strings and booleans .

integers
An integer (abbr. int ) is a whole number (no decimal places)

floats
Floats (abbr. float ) are numbers with decimal places

strings
In Python non-numbers like letters or words are called strings (abbr. str )

booleans
in Python 3, True or False are known as Booleans ( abbr. bool ). Booleans represent truthness and
falseness. The capitalization is important.

Checking the data type of a variable

You can use the type() function to get the data type of a variable.

Get the data type of variable pi .

In [75]: type(pi)

Out[75]: float

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Get the data type of variable first_name .

In [76]: type(first_name)

Out[76]: str

Get the data type of variable age .

In [77]: type(age)

Out[77]: int

Get the data type of variable answer .

In [78]: type(answer)

Out[78]: bool

String Concatenation
In Python 3, you can add strings using + sign. This is called string concatenation .

Add "Hello" and "World"

In [79]: print("Hello" + "World")

HelloWorld

Add "Hello " and "World"

In [80]: print("Hello " + "World")

Hello World

Add "Hello" and " World"

In [81]: print("Hello" + " World")

Hello World

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Another way of adding "Hello" and "World"

In [82]: print("Hello" + " " + "World") # best practise

Hello World

You can create strings, store them in variables and then concatenate them.

In [83]: print(first_name)

Mike

Print variable surname

In [84]: print(surname)

Price

Print out addition of first_name and surname .

In [85]: print(first_name + " " + surname)

Mike Price

Create variable full_name that will store addition of surname and last_name

In [86]: full_name = first_name + " " + surname

Print out full_name .

In [87]: print(full_name)

Mike Price

Print out addition of string "My name is " and full_name

In [88]: print("My name is " + full_name + ".")

My name is Mike Price.

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Data Type Conversion i.e. Casting

Python 3 does not allow the addition of string and number without casting . Trying to add strings and integers
generates a TypeError .

In Python 3, you can cast numbers into strings by enclosing the number in quotation marks. The numbers
enclosed in quotation marks will be treated as strings.

Print the addition of numbers 1 and 2

In [89]: print(1 + 2)

Print the addition of numbers "1" and 2

In [90]: print("1" + 2)

---------------------------------------------------------------------
------
TypeError Traceback (most recent call
last)
<ipython-input-90-2c8b8ec3d2f2> in <module>
----> 1 print("1" + 2)

TypeError: can only concatenate str (not "int") to str

Print the addition of numbers 1 and "2"

In [91]: print(1 + "2")

---------------------------------------------------------------------
------
TypeError Traceback (most recent call
last)
<ipython-input-91-f5a1f3a83b1d> in <module>
----> 1 print(1 + "2")

TypeError: unsupported operand type(s) for +: 'int' and 'str'

Print the addition of the numeric strings "1" and "2"

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In [92]: print( "1" + "2" )

12

To add a number to a string, you must first convert the number to a string using str() function.

Print the addition of numbers 1 and 2 using the str() .

In [93]: print( "1" + str(2) )

12

In [94]: print( str(1) + "2" )

12

In [95]: print( str(1) + str(2) )

12

Print out the variable age

In [96]: print(age)

34

Get the data type of variable age

In [97]: type(age)

Out[97]: int

Try to print out the string "My name is " + full_name + "." + " I am " + age + " years
old." without first converting age into a string

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In [98]: print("My name is " + full_name + "." + " I am " + age + " years ol
d.")

---------------------------------------------------------------------
------
TypeError Traceback (most recent call
last)
<ipython-input-98-2fcebf0bdf01> in <module>
----> 1 print("My name is " + full_name + "." + " I am " + age + " ye
ars old.")

TypeError: can only concatenate str (not "int") to str

Print out the string "My name is " + full_name + "." + " I am " + str(age) + " years
old."

In [99]: print("My name is " + full_name + "." + " I am " + str(age) + " years
old.")

My name is Mike Price. I am 34 years old.

You can also convert a numeric string (i.e. a number in quotation marks) into integer using int()
function or a float using float() function.

Create string variable year

In [100]: year = "2021"

Display the variable year

In [101]: year

Out[101]: '2021'

Get the data type of variable year .

In [102]: type(year)

Out[102]: str

Covert year into an integer with help of int()

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In [103]: int(year)

Out[103]: 2021

Get the data type int(year)

In [104]: type(int(year))

Out[104]: int

Get the data type of variable year .

In [105]: type(year)

Out[105]: str

Display the variable year

In [106]: year

Out[106]: '2021'

Permanently change the data type of year from string to integer

In [107]: year = int(year)

Display out year again.

In [108]: year

Out[108]: 2021

Get the data type of year .

In [109]: type(year)

Out[109]: int

You can repeat a string by multiplying the string by an integer.

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Create a variable disease .

In [110]: disease = "covid-19"

Display variable disease .

In [111]: print(disease)

covid-19

Multiply variable disease by 3 .

In [112]: print(disease * 3)

covid-19covid-19covid-19

You can not repeat a string by multiplying the string with a float.

Multiply variable disease by 3.5

In [113]: print(disease * 3.5)

---------------------------------------------------------------------
------
TypeError Traceback (most recent call
last)
<ipython-input-113-bfc40f76428e> in <module>
----> 1 print(disease * 3.5)

TypeError: can't multiply sequence by non-int of type 'float'

In [ ]:

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