Python Block Structure and Indentation - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Python Block Structure and Indentation

📖 Scenario: You are helping a small bakery keep track of daily sales and decide if they met their sales goal.

🎯 Goal: Build a simple Python program that uses indentation and blocks correctly to check if the bakery met its sales goal and print a message.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a variable with the total sales amount.

Create a variable with the sales goal amount.

Use an if-else block with correct indentation to compare sales and goal.

Print a message depending on whether the goal was met or not.

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Businesses often use simple programs like this to check if they met daily targets and decide next steps.

💼 Career

Understanding Python block structure and indentation is essential for writing clear, error-free code in any programming job.

1

Create the sales data variable

Create a variable called total_sales and set it to 1200 to represent the bakery's total sales for the day.

Python

# Create a variable called total_sales and set it to 1200
# Your code here

Hint

Use the equals sign = to assign the value 1200 to the variable total_sales.

2

Set the sales goal

Create a variable called sales_goal and set it to 1000 to represent the bakery's sales target for the day.

Python

total_sales = 1200
# Create a variable called sales_goal and set it to 1000
# Your code here

Hint

Remember to use a new line and assign 1000 to sales_goal.

3

Write the if-else block to check sales

Write an if statement to check if total_sales is greater than or equal to sales_goal. Use a colon : and indent the next line. Inside the if block, write message = "Goal met! Great job!". Then write an else block with the same indentation as if, and inside it write message = "Goal not met. Keep trying!" indented properly.

Python

total_sales = 1200
sales_goal = 1000
# Write an if-else block to set the message variable based on sales
# Your code here

Hint

Remember to indent the lines inside the if and else blocks by 4 spaces.

4

Print the result message

Write a print statement to display the value of the message variable.

Python

total_sales = 1200
sales_goal = 1000
if total_sales >= sales_goal:
    message = "Goal met! Great job!"
else:
    message = "Goal not met. Keep trying!"
# Print the message variable
# Your code here

Hint

Use print(message) to show the message on the screen.

Practice

1. What does indentation in Python indicate?

easy

A. Which lines of code belong together in a block

B. The data type of a variable

C. The speed of code execution

D. The name of a function

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand Python's use of indentation

   Python uses indentation to group lines of code that belong to the same block, like inside a function or loop.

2. Step 2: Identify what indentation shows

   Indentation shows which lines are connected logically and executed together.

3. Final Answer:

   Which lines of code belong together in a block -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Indentation = Code blocks [OK]

Hint: Indentation groups code lines into blocks [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking indentation shows variable types
• Confusing indentation with execution speed
• Assuming indentation names functions

2. Which of the following code snippets has correct indentation in Python?

easy

A. def greet():
print('Hello')
print('World')

B. def greet():
print('Hello')
print('World')

C. def greet():
print('Hello')
print('World')

D. def greet():
print('Hello')
print('World')

Solution

1. Step 1: Check indentation inside the function

   All lines inside the function must be indented the same amount to belong to the function block.

2. Step 2: Identify the snippet with consistent indentation

   def greet():
     print('Hello')
     print('World')

   has both print statements indented equally under the function, which is correct.

3. Final Answer:

   def greet():\n print('Hello')\n print('World') -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Consistent indentation inside function = Correct [OK]

Hint: Indent all block lines equally under the header [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Mixing indentation levels inside a block
• Not indenting any lines inside a function
• Indenting only some lines inconsistently

3. What will be the output of this code?

for i in range(2):
    print('Start')
    if i == 0:
        print('First loop')
    print('End')

medium

A. Start\nFirst loop\nEnd\nStart\nEnd

B. Start\nEnd\nStart\nFirst loop\nEnd

C. Start\nFirst loop\nEnd\nStart\nFirst loop\nEnd

D. Start\nEnd\nStart\nEnd

Solution

1. Step 1: Trace the loop iterations

   The loop runs twice: i=0 and i=1.

2. Step 2: Check prints for each iteration

   For i=0: prints 'Start', then 'First loop' (because i==0), then 'End'. For i=1: prints 'Start' and 'End' only.

3. Final Answer:

   Start\nFirst loop\nEnd\nStart\nEnd -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Loop with condition prints extra line only once [OK]

Hint: Follow indentation to see which prints run inside conditions [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Ignoring indentation and printing 'First loop' twice
• Mixing order of printed lines
• Assuming all prints run every iteration

4. Identify the error in this code:

if True:
print('Yes')
    print('Still Yes')

medium

A. SyntaxError because of missing colon

B. IndentationError due to inconsistent indentation

C. No error, code runs fine

D. NameError due to undefined variable

Solution

1. Step 1: Check indentation after if statement

   Lines inside the if block must be indented equally.

2. Step 2: Identify inconsistent indentation

   The first print is not indented, the second print is indented. This causes an IndentationError.

3. Final Answer:

   IndentationError due to inconsistent indentation -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Inconsistent indentation = IndentationError [OK]

Hint: All lines in a block must have same indentation [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking missing colon causes error here
• Assuming code runs without indentation
• Confusing IndentationError with NameError

5. You want to write a function that prints numbers 1 to 3, each followed by 'Done' on a new line. Which code correctly uses indentation to achieve this?

def print_numbers():
    for i in range(1, 4):
        print(i)
    print('Done')

hard

A. def print_numbers():
for i in range(1, 4):
print(i)
print('Done')

B. def print_numbers():
for i in range(1, 4):
print(i)
print('Done')

C. def print_numbers():
for i in range(1, 4):
print(i)
print('Done')

D. def print_numbers():
for i in range(1, 4):
print(i)
print('Done')

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand desired output

   Each number 1 to 3 should print, then 'Done' on a new line after each number.

2. Step 2: Check indentation for print statements

   To print 'Done' after each number, both print(i) and print('Done') must be inside the for loop, indented equally.

3. Step 3: Identify correct option

   def print_numbers():
       for i in range(1, 4):
           print(i)
           print('Done')

   has both prints indented inside the loop, so 'Done' prints after each number.

4. Final Answer:

   def print_numbers():\n for i in range(1, 4):\n print(i)\n print('Done') -> Option C

5. Quick Check:

   Same indentation inside loop = prints per iteration [OK]

Hint: Indent all loop actions equally to repeat each time [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Indenting 'Done' outside loop causing single print
• Not indenting loop body at all
• Mixing indentation levels inside loop