session-2.md

Session 2 Problems

A little theory

These are thought questions - there are probably several right answers.

• How can using a function make your code shorter?
• How can using a function make your code easier to change?
• How can using a function make your code more easily readable?

Find the longer of two strings

Create a function called longer_string that takes two strings and returns the longer one. For example,

longer_string("Ove", "Arup") # returns "Arup"

Print out a triangle

Create a function called print_triangle that takes a single integer and prints out a sideways 'triangle' of that height, made of *'s or #'s or @'s or whatever you feel like. For example, print_triangle(5) might print out

*
**
***
****
*****

Hint: Python's ability to 'multiply' a string by an integer may prove useful.

Bonus points: make a pyramid instead.

Check if a number is prime

Create a function called is_prime that takes a single integer and returns True or False indicating whether or not the number is prime. A number is prime if its only even divisors are 1 and the number itself. For example, 7 is prime since it is only divisible by 1 and 7, but 14 is not prime since it is divisible by 1, 2, 7 and 14.

You'll likely need to use some sort of loop inside your function.