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Python · Syntax · Beginner
Conditions 2
11 tasks
Additional practice with conditionals in Python: string checks, text lengths, characters, slices, string methods, logical and/or operators, and simple input processing scenarios.
Quick topic start and explanations before exercises (exercises below):
Conditional statements in this topic work with strings instead of numbers. The new skill is knowing which string operations to reach for — there are four that cover almost every situation.
Indexing gives you individual characters. Positive indices count from the start, negative from the end:
```python
text = "Python"
print(text[0]) # P — first character
print(text[-1]) # n — last character
print(text[-2]) # o — second to last
```
A slice with [start:end] extracts a substring from index start up to, but not including, index end:
```python
text = "Hello world"
print(text[:4]) # Hell — first 4 characters
print(text[2:8]) # llo wo — from index 2 to 7
```
If you omit start, Python assumes 0. If you omit end, it goes to the end of the string. So text[:4] and text[0:4] are identical.
The in operator tests whether a substring or character exists anywhere in the string:
```python
if "@" in text:
print("Contains @")
if "#" in text or "@" in text:
print("Special character found")
```
Two methods handle prefix and suffix checks more cleanly than slicing:
```python
text.startswith("Py") # True when text begins with "Py"
text.endswith("on") # True when text ends with "on"
```
Both methods are case-sensitive. "python".startswith("Py") is False.
A pattern these exercises repeat: check the length before accessing characters. Accessing text[0] or text[-1] on an empty string raises an IndexError — the length guard prevents that.
```python
text = input("Enter a string: ")
if len(text) > 10:
print(text[0], text[-1])
else:
print("Too short")
```
For case-insensitive comparisons, convert to lowercase before comparing. The method returns a new string — it does not modify text in place:
```python
text = input("Enter a phrase: ")
if text.lower() == "hello":
print("Hello to you too!")
elif text.lower() == "goodbye":
print("Goodbye!")
else:
print("I don't understand")
```
Combining a length check with a content check — and short-circuits from left to right, so if the length check fails Python skips the rest:
```python
text = input("Enter a message: ")
if len(text) > 6 and text[-1] == "!":
print("Emotional message")
else:
print("Normal message")
```
Checking a range of lengths uses two comparisons joined with and:
```python
if len(text) >= 5 and len(text) <= 10:
print("Suitable length")
```
This is equivalent to the chained form: if 5 <= len(text) <= 10.
**String operations for conditions**
| Operation | Syntax | Returns |
|---|---|---|
| Character by index | `s[0]`, `s[-1]` | single character |
| Substring slice | `s[1:4]` | substring |
| Membership test | `'x' in s` | `True` / `False` |
| Starts with | `s.startswith('ab')` | `True` / `False` |
| Ends with | `s.endswith('ab')` | `True` / `False` |
| Length | `len(s)` | integer |
**Useful string methods in conditions**
| Method | What it does |
|---|---|
| `s.lower()` | lowercase copy — use before comparing |
| `s.upper()` | uppercase copy |
| `s.strip()` | copy without leading/trailing spaces |
| `s.isdigit()` | `True` if every character is a digit |
| `s.isalpha()` | `True` if every character is a letter |
| `s.isspace()` | `True` if only whitespace |
**Key patterns**
```python
# Always check length before indexing
if len(s) > 0: # or: if s:
print(s[0], s[-1])
# Case-insensitive comparison
if s.lower() == 'yes':
print('Confirmed')
# Check both ends
if s.startswith('(') and s.endswith(')'):
print('Wrapped in parentheses')
# Length in a range
if 5 <= len(s) <= 20:
print('Valid length')
# Short-circuit: length guard before content check
if len(s) >= 2 and s[-1] == '!':
print('Ends with exclamation')
```
The user enters a string.
If the string length is greater than 10 characters — display the first and last character,
otherwise — display "The string is too short".
text = input("Enter a string: ")
Solution
text = input("Enter a string: ")
if len(text) > 10:
print(text[0], text[-1])
else:
print("The string is too short")
# or you can do this: store the characters in variables
text = input("Enter a string: ")
if len(text) > 10:
first = text[0]
last = text[-1]
print(first, last)
else:
print("The string is too short")
The user enters a string.
If the string starts with the letter "A" or "a" — display "Starts with A",
otherwise — "Starts with another letter". You can use string methods.
text = input("Enter a string: ")
Solution
text = input("Enter a string: ")
if text.startswith("A") or text.startswith("a"):
print("Starts with A")
else:
print("Starts with another letter")
# OR
if text[0] == "A" or text[0] == "a":
print("Starts with A")
else:
print("Starts with another letter")
# OR
if text[0].lower() == "a":
print("Starts with A")
else:
print("Starts with another letter")
As a result of this expression text[0], we get a new string object that
consists of 1 character, which means we can apply methods to it.
The user enters a string.
If the string length is greater than 8 characters — display the first 4 characters,
otherwise — display the whole string.
text = input("Enter a string: ")
Solution
text = input("Enter a string: ")
if len(text) > 8:
print(text[:4])
else:
print(text)
# or you can do this: prepare the fragment first
text = input("Enter a string: ")
if len(text) > 8:
part = text[:4]
else:
part = text
print(part)
The user enters a string.
If the string length is greater than 6 characters and the last character is "!" —
display "Emotional message", otherwise — "Regular message".
text = input("Enter a message: ")
Solution
text = input("Enter a message: ")
if len(text) > 6 and text[-1] == "!":
print("Emotional message")
else:
print("Regular message")
# or you can do this using the endswith method
text = input("Enter a message: ")
if len(text) > 6 and text.endswith("!"):
print("Emotional message")
else:
print("Regular message")
The user enters a string.
If the string contains the "@" symbol or the "#" symbol —
display "Special character found", otherwise — "No special characters".
text = input("Enter a string: ")
Solution
text = input("Enter a string: ")
if "@" in text or "#" in text:
print("Special character found")
else:
print("No special characters")
# or you can do this: check the characters one by one
text = input("Enter a string: ")
if "@" in text:
print("Special character found")
elif "#" in text:
print("Special character found")
else:
print("No special characters")
The user enters a first name and last name.
If both the first name and the last name are not empty — display a greeting in the format: "Hello, First Name Last Name!" (use an f-string),
otherwise — "Enter valid data".
name = input("Enter first name: ")
surname = input("Enter last name: ")
Solution
name = input("Enter first name: ")
surname = input("Enter last name: ")
if name and surname:
print(f"Hello, {name} {surname}!")
else:
print("Enter valid data")
# or without an f-string, using string concatenation
name = input("Enter first name: ")
surname = input("Enter last name: ")
if name and surname:
print("Hello, " + name + " " + surname + "!")
else:
print("Enter valid data")
The user enters a string.
If the string length is greater than 10 characters — display a slice of the string
from the 3rd character (inclusive) to the 8th character (inclusive),
otherwise — display "Not enough characters".
text = input("Enter a string: ")
Solution
text = input("Enter a string: ")
if len(text) > 10:
print(text[2:8])
else:
print("Not enough characters")
The user enters a string.
If the string is not empty — display the message: "First character: X, last character: Y" (use an f-string),
otherwise — "Empty string".
text = input("Enter a string: ")
Solution
text = input("Enter a string: ")
if text:
print(f"First character: {text[0]}, last character: {text[-1]}")
else:
print("Empty string")
# or you can do this: save the first and last character beforehand
text = input("Enter a string: ")
if text:
first = text[0]
last = text[-1]
print(f"First character: {first}, last character: {last}")
else:
print("Empty string")
The user enters a string.
If the string length is from 5 to 10 characters inclusive —
display "Suitable length",
otherwise — "Unsuitable length".
text = input("Enter a string: ")
Solution
text = input("Enter a string: ")
if 5 <= len(text) <= 10:
print("Suitable length")
else:
print("Unsuitable length")
# second option: the same thing without chained comparisons
text = input("Enter a string: ")
length = len(text)
if length >= 5 and length <= 10:
print("Suitable length")
else:
print("Unsuitable length")
The user enters a string.
If the string starts with "Py" or ends with "on" —
display "Looks like Python",
otherwise — "Does not look like Python".
text = input("Enter a string: ")
Solution
text = input("Enter a string: ")
if text.startswith("Py") or text.endswith("on"):
print("Looks like Python")
else:
print("Does not look like Python")
# or you can do this if the case of the first letter does not matter
text = input("Enter a string: ")
if text.lower().startswith("py") or text.endswith("on"):
print("Looks like Python")
else:
print("Does not look like Python")
"Hello - Goodbye program" If the user enters: Hello, hello, HeLLo or HELLO - reply with "Hello to you too!" If the user enters: Bye, bYe, and so on - reply with "Adios!".
text = input("Enter a phrase: ")
Solution
text = input("Enter a phrase: ")
if text.lower() == "hello":
print("Hello to you too!")
elif text.lower() == "bye":
print("Adios!")
else:
print("Nah, I don't talk to strangers! Adios!")
# OR more carefully, to account for containment instead of exact equality:
if "hello" in text.lower():
print("Hello to you too!")
elif "bye" in text.lower():
print("Adios!")
else:
print("Nah, I don't talk to strangers! Adios!")
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