Basics

In this section we cover some basic Python syntax.

(a)

The print command prints variables and strings to the screen.

(b)

Comments let you insert text into your code that is not executed. This will help to remind you (and others) what your code does.

(c)

Lists help you organize and manipulate data.

(d)

Mathematical functions like $e^x$, $\sin (x)$ have to be imported from another file. Use this link for more information.

SageCell

A SageCell is a web-interface where you can type in Python code and evaluate it without installing any special software or navigating to another page. SageCell runs a special version of Python 3 with some minor differences to the standard kernel. This should not present any serious difficulties in this course. Each problem in the next section has a SageCell after it. Be sure to type in your answer to each problem in the appropriate SageCell.

Below is an example of a SageCell. Click on the ‘Evaluate’ button to see the result.

Problems

(a)

Print a string that contains your full name.

(b)

Print the length of the string from the previous question. (Hint: Strings are lists where each element is a single character.)

(c)

Compute and print $3+4/2$. Are you surprised by the result?

(d)

Compute and print $e^{-\pi }$.

(e)

Are the trigonometric functions assuming that the input is in degrees or radians?

(f)

Compute and print $2^{2/3}$. (Hint: You will need to find an appropriate function using the math library link above.)