Selecting rows (loc, iloc) in Data Analysis Python - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Selecting Rows with loc and iloc in Pandas

📖 Scenario: You work in a small bookstore. You have a list of books with their details. You want to find specific books by their position or by their label.

🎯 Goal: Learn how to select rows from a table using loc and iloc in pandas.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a pandas DataFrame with book data

Create variables to select specific rows

Use loc to select rows by label

Use iloc to select rows by position

Print the selected rows

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Selecting rows by label or position is common when working with data tables, like filtering customer records or finding specific entries in a dataset.

💼 Career

Data analysts and scientists often need to extract specific rows from large datasets to analyze or visualize data effectively.

1

Create the books DataFrame

Import pandas as pd and create a DataFrame called books with these exact entries: index labels 101, 102, 103, 104; columns 'Title', 'Author', 'Year'; and rows: ['The Alchemist', 'Paulo Coelho', 1988], ['1984', 'George Orwell', 1949], ['To Kill a Mockingbird', 'Harper Lee', 1960], ['The Great Gatsby', 'F. Scott Fitzgerald', 1925].

Data Analysis Python

import pandas as pd
# Create the DataFrame 'books' with the given data and index labels
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use pd.DataFrame with a dictionary for columns and index for row labels.

2

Create variables for row selection

Create a variable called label_to_select and set it to 102. Create another variable called position_to_select and set it to 2.

Data Analysis Python

import pandas as pd
books = pd.DataFrame({
    'Title': ['The Alchemist', '1984', 'To Kill a Mockingbird', 'The Great Gatsby'],
    'Author': ['Paulo Coelho', 'George Orwell', 'Harper Lee', 'F. Scott Fitzgerald'],
    'Year': [1988, 1949, 1960, 1925]
}, index=[101, 102, 103, 104])
# Create 'label_to_select' with value 102
# Create 'position_to_select' with value 2
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Just assign the numbers 102 and 2 to the variables.

3

Select rows using loc and iloc

Use loc on books with label_to_select to select the row by label and save it in row_by_label. Use iloc on books with position_to_select to select the row by position and save it in row_by_position.

Data Analysis Python

import pandas as pd
books = pd.DataFrame({
    'Title': ['The Alchemist', '1984', 'To Kill a Mockingbird', 'The Great Gatsby'],
    'Author': ['Paulo Coelho', 'George Orwell', 'Harper Lee', 'F. Scott Fitzgerald'],
    'Year': [1988, 1949, 1960, 1925]
}, index=[101, 102, 103, 104])

label_to_select = 102
position_to_select = 2
# Select row by label using loc and save to 'row_by_label'
# Select row by position using iloc and save to 'row_by_position'
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use books.loc[label_to_select] and books.iloc[position_to_select].

4

Print the selected rows

Print row_by_label and then print row_by_position to show the selected rows.

Data Analysis Python

import pandas as pd
books = pd.DataFrame({
    'Title': ['The Alchemist', '1984', 'To Kill a Mockingbird', 'The Great Gatsby'],
    'Author': ['Paulo Coelho', 'George Orwell', 'Harper Lee', 'F. Scott Fitzgerald'],
    'Year': [1988, 1949, 1960, 1925]
}, index=[101, 102, 103, 104])

label_to_select = 102
position_to_select = 2

row_by_label = books.loc[label_to_select]
row_by_position = books.iloc[position_to_select]
# Print 'row_by_label'
# Print 'row_by_position'
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use two print() statements, one for each selected row.