Python Basics — Operators Exercises

3 minute read

Practice Exercises — Operators

Test your understanding of arithmetic, comparison, logical, identity, and membership operators.

Exercise 1: Time Converter

Write a program that converts 7384 seconds into hours, minutes, and seconds. Use // and %.

Show Answer

Answer:

total_seconds = 7384

hours = total_seconds // 3600
remaining = total_seconds % 3600
minutes = remaining // 60
seconds = remaining % 60

print(f"{total_seconds} seconds = {hours}h {minutes}m {seconds}s")

Expected output:

7384 seconds = 2h 3m 4s

Alternative using divmod():

total_seconds = 7384
hours, remaining = divmod(total_seconds, 3600)
minutes, seconds = divmod(remaining, 60)
print(f"{total_seconds} seconds = {hours}h {minutes}m {seconds}s")

Exercise 2: Leap Year Checker

Write a condition that checks if a year is a leap year. A year is a leap year if:

  • It’s divisible by 4 AND
  • NOT divisible by 100, UNLESS also divisible by 400

Test with years: 2024, 1900, 2000.

Show Answer

Answer:

def is_leap_year(year):
    return (year % 4 == 0 and year % 100 != 0) or (year % 400 == 0)

print(is_leap_year(2024))  # True
print(is_leap_year(1900))  # False (divisible by 100 but not 400)
print(is_leap_year(2000))  # True (divisible by 400)
print(is_leap_year(2023))  # False

Expected output:

True
False
True
False

Key concepts: Combines % (modulo), == (comparison), and/or (logical operators).

Exercise 3: is vs ==

Predict the output of each expression, then verify:

a = [1, 2, 3]
b = a
c = [1, 2, 3]

print(a == b)
print(a is b)
print(a == c)
print(a is c)
print(a is not c)
Show Answer

Answer:

a = [1, 2, 3]
b = a           # b references the same object as a
c = [1, 2, 3]   # c is a new list with same content

print(a == b)     # True — same content
print(a is b)     # True — same object (b = a)
print(a == c)     # True — same content
print(a is c)     # False — different objects in memory
print(a is not c) # True — they are NOT the same object

Key takeaway: == compares values, is compares identity (memory address). Two lists can be equal (==) but not identical (is).

Exercise 4: Membership Check

Write a program that checks if a user’s input is a valid day of the week. Use the in operator.

Show Answer

Answer:

valid_days = {"monday", "tuesday", "wednesday", "thursday",
              "friday", "saturday", "sunday"}

user_input = "Wednesday"

if user_input.lower() in valid_days:
    print(f"'{user_input}' is a valid day.")
else:
    print(f"'{user_input}' is NOT a valid day.")

Expected output:

'Wednesday' is a valid day.

Key concepts:

  • Used a set for O(1) fast lookup
  • Used .lower() for case-insensitive comparison
  • The in operator checks membership in the set

Exercise 5: Operator Precedence

Without running the code, predict the result of each expression:

a = 2 + 3 * 4
b = (2 + 3) * 4
c = 2 ** 3 ** 2
d = True or False and False
e = not True or True
Show Answer

Answer:

a = 2 + 3 * 4
print(f"a = {a}")  # a = 14 (3*4=12, then 2+12=14)

b = (2 + 3) * 4
print(f"b = {b}")  # b = 20 ((2+3)=5, then 5*4=20)

c = 2 ** 3 ** 2
print(f"c = {c}")  # c = 512 (3**2=9, then 2**9=512; ** is right-associative)

d = True or False and False
print(f"d = {d}")  # d = True (and before or: False and False = False, then True or False = True)

e = not True or True
print(f"e = {e}")  # e = True (not True = False, then False or True = True)

Expected output:

a = 14
b = 20
c = 512
d = True
e = True

Key concepts:

  • * before +
  • ** is right-associative: 2 ** 3 ** 2 = 2 ** (3 ** 2)
  • Logical precedence: not > and > or

Scoring Guide

Score Level
5/5 Excellent — Operators fully mastered
4/5 Great — Solid understanding
3/5 Good — Review identity operators and precedence
2/5 Needs Work — Re-read the operators chapter
1/5 Keep Going — Practice arithmetic and comparison first

Next chapter: Input & Output →

Updated:

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