Day 2: Tasks & Activities

A cartoon panda is buried under a pile of dictionaries (Midjourney5)[https://www.midjourney.com/jobs/ea8d00de-44ce-446b-b74b-1b2dda56b0f3?index=0]

Introduction

Welcome to the end-of-day exercise for Day 2! Today, we’ll be putting into practice what you’ve learned about Python data structures, particularly lists and dictionaries. This exercise allows you to work with real data from your classmates while reinforcing key concepts.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this exercise, you should be able to:

1. Create and manipulate lists and dictionaries in Python
2. Use list and dictionary methods effectively
3. Iterate through data structures using loops
4. Apply basic data analysis techniques using Python data structures

Setup

First, let’s import the necessary libraries:

# We won't use the random library until the end of this exercise, 
# but it's always good to put imported libraries at the top of your notebook.
import random 

Part 1: Data Collection

In this first part, we’ll create data structures based on information from your classmates.

Task 1: Create a List of Classmates

Create a list containing the names of at least 4 of your classmates in this course.

# Your code here

Task 2: Create a Dictionary of Classmate Information

Now, let’s create a dictionary where the keys are your classmates’ names, and the values are another dictionary containing information about them. For each classmate, include the following information:

• Favorite color (favorite_color)
• Number of pets (number_of_pets)
• Preferred study snack (preferred_study_snack)

# Your code here

Part 2: Data Structure Manipulation

Now that we have our data structures, let’s practice manipulating them.

Task 3: List Operations

Using the list of classmate names you created in Task 1, perform the following operations:

1. Add a new classmate to the end of the list
2. Remove the second classmate from the list
3. Sort the list alphabetically
4. Find and print the index of a specific classmate

# Your code here

Task 4: Dictionary Operations

Using the dictionary of classmate information from Task 2, perform the following operations:

1. Add a new key-value pair for each classmate: “favorite_study_spot”
2. Update the “number of pets” for one classmate
3. Create a list of all the favorite colors your classmates mentioned

# Your code here

Part 3: Fun with Random Selections

Let’s add a fun element to our exercise using the random module. Before we dive into the main task, let’s look at how we can use the random library to select random items from a dictionary.

Example: Random Selection from a Dictionary

Here’s a simple example of how to select random items from a dictionary:

import random

# Sample dictionary
fruit_colors = {
    "apple": "red",
    "banana": "yellow",
    "grape": "purple",
    "kiwi": "brown",
    "orange": "orange"
}

# Select a single random key-value pair
random_fruit, random_color = random.choice(list(fruit_colors.items()))
print(f"Randomly selected fruit: {random_fruit}")
print(f"Its color: {random_color}")

# To get just a random key:
random_fruit = random.choice(list(fruit_colors.keys()))
print(f"Another randomly selected fruit: {random_fruit}")

# To select multiple random items:
num_selections = 3
random_fruits = random.sample(list(fruit_colors.keys()), num_selections)
print(f"Randomly selected {num_selections} fruits: {random_fruits}")

Randomly selected fruit: kiwi
Its color: brown
Another randomly selected fruit: banana
Randomly selected 3 fruits: ['kiwi', 'apple', 'banana']

This example demonstrates how to:

1. Convert a dictionary to a list of key-value pairs or keys
2. Use random.choice() to select a single random item from a list
3. Use random.sample() to select multiple unique random items from a list

Note: random.choice() selects a single item, while random.sample() can select multiple unique items. For our snack-sharing task below, random.sample() might be more useful!

Task 5: Random Snack Sharing

Create a function that randomly selects a classmate to share their snack with another random classmate. Print out the results as “Name will share [snack] with Name”.

#| echo: true
def assign_random_snacks(classmate_info):
    # Your code here
    print(f"{sharer} will share {snack} with {receiver}")

# Test your function
assign_random_snacks(classmate_info)

Conclusion

Great job completing this exercise! You’ve practiced creating and manipulating lists and dictionaries, performed basic data analysis, and even created a fun random snack-sharing function. These skills will be invaluable as you continue your journey in Python programming and data science.

Remember, the key to mastering these concepts is practice. Feel free to modify this exercise with your own data or ideas to further reinforce your learning.

Additional Resources

• Python Lists (Python.org)
• Python Dictionaries (Python.org)
• Random Module (Python.org)

Don’t forget to check out our course cheatsheets for quick reference on lists and dictionaries!