Python Comments, Variables, Input & Data Types | ICT Notes Cambridge-Lower-Secondary-Computing-7-Ben-Barnes-Tristan-Kirkpatrick Edexcel Tuition Class Sri Lanka

🐍 Python: Comments, Variables, Input & Data Types

Complete Guide with Practice Exercises & Solutions

📚 About this guide: Complete, exam-friendly notes for Python Programming Basics. Learn how to add comments, use variables, capture user input with input(), understand data types (string, integer, float), and practice with real exercises and solutions.

Concept 1

What Are Comments?

Adding comments to code allows you to explain what the code does or to provide extra information about the code. In Python, you start a comment with a hash (#) symbol. Any text on a line after a # symbol will be ignored by the interpreter.

Example

Comments in Action

# This is an Adventure Game about The Digital Sweet Shop
# The program was written by me
#
#
#
# The next few lines give the introduction

print("Welcome to The Digital Sweet Shop")
print()
print("You have been invited to take part in a competition in the shop.")
print("You must find the chocolate room where you will be asked a question.")
print("If you get it right you will receive letters which are part of a password and a clue.")
          

🎯 Exam Tip: Comments improve code readability and help other programmers (or yourself later) understand what the code does. They are essential for good programming practice!

Concept 2

What is a Variable?

A variable is a named location in the computer's memory that stores data of a particular type. Data can either be assigned to a variable in the program itself, or it can be assigned from input from the user.

name = "Ardeel"
age = 12
address = "Station Road"
colour = "Red"
          

Concept 3

Printing Variables

To print the contents of a variable, use the print() statement. To combine text and a variable, use a comma (not inside quotation marks).

# Print just the variable
print(name)
# Output: Ardeel

# Combine text and variable
print("Your name is", name)
# Output: Your name is Ardeel
          

🔑 Keyword:

• Variable: A named memory location used to store data of a given type during program execution; a variable can change value as the program runs.

Concept 4

The input() Function

The input() command allows users to enter information into the program and store it in a variable.

name = input("What is your name? ")
print("Hello", name)
          

Command	Description
input()	Used to take input from a user. If you wish to store this input, you need to assign it to a variable.

Scratch vs Python

Comparison: Scratch Blocks → Python Code

Scratch Blocks	Python Code
when 🟢 clicked ask What's your name? and wait set [name ▾] to (answer) say (join [Hello ] (name))	name = input("What's your name? ") print("Hello", name)

Practice

Practice Task: Name and Number

Create a program that:

• Asks the user to 'Enter your name' and stores it in a variable called name
• Asks the user to 'Enter a number between 1 and 10' and stores it in a variable called number
• Uses print to create output like this:

Enter your name Khalil
Enter a number between 1 and 10 6
Your name is Khalil and the number you entered was 6
          

💡 Solution:

name = input("Enter your name ")
number = input("Enter a number between 1 and 10 ")
print("Your name is", name, "and the number you entered was", number)
            

Concept 5

What Are Data Types?

Variables can hold different data types. To store data, you must decide on a name and a data type for the variable first.

Data Type	Example	Description
String	'Hello World', 'WE5694MC'	Any textual characters (letters, numbers, symbols)
Integer	24, -10	Any whole number (no decimal point)
Real (Float)	6.98, -0.045	Any number with a decimal point

⚠️ Important: In Python, the data type real is referred to as float. This is short for 'floating point number', which is a decimal number.

Concept 6

Variable Examples

Variable Name	Data Type	Reason
playerage	Integer	Stores a whole number (age in years)
playername	String	Stores letters/text characters

The variable names have been chosen as playerage and playername, but they could have been called anything we wanted.

Concept 7

Input Function & Data Types

To capture data from the user, you use the input() function. The input function captures user input as a string data type. This contains numbers, letters, and symbols.

playername = input("What is your name? ")
print("Welcome", playername)
          

Examples of string data type: 'Robot', '@password123', '**WWW777'

Keywords

Essential Vocabulary

• Data type: The different ways in which data can be stored, e.g., integer, string, decimal number
• Integer: Whole number
• Real: Any number with a decimal point, such as 1.2 or 56.8
• Float: Another name for the data type real; short for 'floating point number'
• Input function: A function that Python uses to capture string data from users
• String: Data that is made up of letters, numbers, or any characters on the keyboard

💡 DID YOU KNOW? Variables are not used just in computer programming; they are used in other applications as well. Spreadsheets make use of variables too, but they are referred to as cell references. Variables are extremely powerful as you can use them to store data and model different scenarios (weather forecasting, financial markets, aerodynamics).

Exercise 1

Rewrite Scratch Programs in Python

Program 1 (Scratch): Ask for a word and display it back

✅ Python Solution:

word = input("Enter a word: ")
print("The word you entered was", word)
            

Program 2 (Scratch): Ask for age and location

✅ Python Solution:

age = input("How old are you? ")
print("You are", age, "years old")

live = input("Where do you live? ")
print("You live in", live)
            

Exercise 2

Identify Data Types

Look at the Python code below and identify the data type for each variable:

name = "Maryam"
cardNumber = "0012563943029845"
balance = 145.98
address = "Mall Road"
age = 11
          

Variable Description	Variable Name	Data Type	Explanation
Name on bank card	name	String	Contains text characters representing a name
Bank card number	cardNumber	String	Stored as text because it contains leading zeros and is not used for calculations
Bank account balance	balance	Float (Real)	Contains a decimal point representing monetary value
Address	address	String	Contains a mix of letters and numbers representing text
Age	age	Integer	Contains a whole number representing years

Exercise 3

Complete the DataTypes.py Program

Edit the code so when it runs, it looks like this:

Name: Maryam
Age: 13
Address: Station Road
Bank Card Number: 0012563943029845
Current Balance: 145.98
          

✅ Python Solution:

# Updated variables to match final output requirements
name = "Maryam"
cardNumber = "0012563943029845"
balance = 145.98
address = "Station Road"
age = 13

# Output formatting statements
print("Name:", name)
print("Age:", age)
print("Address:", address)
print("Bank Card Number:", cardNumber)
print("Current Balance:", balance)
            

❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: How do you add comments in Python? A: In Python, you add comments by starting a line with a hash (#) symbol. The Python interpreter ignores any text on a line after the # symbol, making it useful for explaining code or providing extra information.

Q: What is a variable in Python? A: A variable is a named location in the computer's memory that stores data of a particular type. Data can be assigned to a variable in the program itself or from user input, and it can change value as the program runs.

Q: What does the input() function do in Python? A: The input() function allows users to enter information into the program. It captures user input as a string data type and stores it in a variable. For example: name = input('What is your name? ')

Q: What are the three main data types in Python? A: The three main data types are: 1) String - textual characters like 'Hello World', 2) Integer - whole numbers like 24 or -10, 3) Real/Float - numbers with decimal points like 6.98 or -0.045.

Q: Why is a bank card number stored as a string instead of an integer? A: A bank card number is stored as a string because it contains leading zeros and is not used for mathematical calculations. Storing it as an integer would remove the leading zeros.

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