Section 1: Computer Programming and Python Fundamentals

Question 1

What is an interpreter?

Answer 1

A program that executes code line by line without producing a separate compiled file.

Question 2

What is a compiler?

Answer 2

A program that translates source code into machine code before execution, producing a separate executable.

Question 3

What is lexis in programming?

Answer 3

The set of valid characters and tokens (e.g., keywords, identifiers, operators).

Question 4

What is syntax?

Answer 4

The rules that define the correct arrangement of tokens in code (grammar).

Question 5

What is semantics?

Answer 5

The meaning behind syntactically correct code.

Question 6

What are keywords in Python?

Answer 6

Reserved words with special meaning (e.g., if, else, while, def, return); can’t be used as variable names

Question 7

What is an instruction in Python?

Answer 7

A complete command for the interpreter (e.g., x = 5, print(“Hello”)).

Question 8

Why is indentation important in Python?

Answer 8

Indentation defines code blocks and must be consistent (typically 4 spaces).

Question 9

How do you write a comment in Python?

Answer 9

Use the # symbol for single-line comments and “”” for doc strings

Question 10

What is a Boolean literal?

Answer 10

True or False

Question 11

Give an example of an integer and a float in Python.

Answer 11

Integer: 42, Float: 3.14

Question 12

What is scientific notation in Python?

Answer 12

A way to write large/small floats: 3.5e4 means 35000.0

Question 13

What are the bases of the numeral systems used in Python?

Answer 13

Binary: base-2 (0b101)
Octal: base-8 (0o12)
Decimal: base-10 (10)
Hexadecimal: base-16 (0xA)

Question 14

How do you define a string in Python?

Answer 14

Enclose characters in single ‘ or double “ quotes: ‘hello’, “world”; Can also include escape characters with a / in front

Question 15

What are the rules for naming variables in Python?

Answer 15

Snake case for standard variables:
Start with a letter or underscore
Can include letters, numbers, and underscores
Caps case for constants:
All uppercase letters and numbers seperated by underscores
Cannot be a keyword
Case-sensitive

Question 16

What does PEP-8 recommend for naming variables?

Answer 16

Use lowercase with underscores: my_variable_name

Question 17

What are Python’s numeric operators?

Answer 17

**, *, /, %, //, +, -

Question 18

What are string operators in Python?

Answer 18

+ (concatenation): “a” + “b” → “ab”
* (repetition): “a” * 3 → “aaa”

Question 19

What are shortcut assignment operators?

Answer 19

+=, -=, *=, /=, %= etc.

Question 20

What are unary and binary operators?

Answer 20

Unary: operate on one operand (e.g., -x, not x)
Binary: operate on two operands (e.g., x + y)

Question 21

What determines operator priority in Python?

Answer 21

Exponents: **
Unary: +1, -1, ~1
*, /,//,%
+,-
Bitwise shift: <<, >>
Bitwise and:&
Bitwise xor: ^
Bitwise or:|
==, !=, <, >, <=, >=
not
and
or
=

Question 22

List some bitwise operators.

Answer 22

NOT: ~
AND: &
OR: |
XOR: ^
Left shift: «
Right shift:&raquo_space;

Question 23

What are the Boolean operators in Python?

Answer 23

not, and, or

Question 24

Give examples of relational (comparison) operators.

Answer 24

==, !=, >, >=, <, <=

Question 25

Why are floating-point numbers not always accurate?

Answer 25

They are stored as binary approximations, which can lead to rounding errors.

Question 26

What is type casting in Python?

Answer 26

Converting one data type to another, e.g., int("5"), float(3)

Question 27

What does print() do in Python?

Answer 27

Outputs text or variables to the console.

Question 28

What does input() do?

Answer 28

Outputs a message to the user and takes user input as a string

Question 29

What do sep= and end= do in print()?

Answer 29

sep: specifies the separator between printed values (print("Hello","world",sep="-")) # prints "Hello-world" end: specifies what to print at the end (default is \n)

Question 30

How do you convert user input to an integer or float?

Answer 30

int(input()) float(input())