Random data generation in Python - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to import the module needed for random data generation.

Python

import [1]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Arandom

Bsys

Cmath

Dos

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Importing unrelated modules like sys or math instead of random.

The random module is used to generate random numbers and data in Python.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to generate a random integer between 1 and 10.

Python

num = random.[1](1, 10)

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Arandom

Brandint

Crandrange

Dchoice

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using random.choice which selects from a sequence, not a range of integers.

The randint(a, b) function returns a random integer N such that a <= N <= b.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the code to select a random element from the list.

Python

item = random.[1](items)

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Arandint

Brandrange

Cchoice

Dsample

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using randint which returns an integer, not an element from a list.

The choice() function returns a random element from a non-empty sequence like a list.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to create a list of 5 random integers between 1 and 20.

Python

numbers = [random.[1](1, 20) for [2] in range(5)]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Arandint

Bi

Cj

Drandrange

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using randrange which excludes the upper bound, or confusing loop variable names.

Use randint to get random integers including both ends. The variable i is a common loop variable name.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to create a dictionary with words as keys and their lengths as values, only for words longer than 3 letters.

Python

lengths = {word: [1] for word in words if len(word) [2] 3 and word.[3]('a')}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Alen(word)

B>

Cstartswith

Dendswith

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using wrong comparison operators or string methods like endswith instead of startswith.

This dictionary comprehension maps each word to its length if the word is longer than 3 letters and starts with 'a'.

Practice

1. What does the random.randint(a, b) function do in Python?

easy

A. Returns a random float between a and b

B. Returns a random integer N such that a ≤ N ≤ b

C. Returns a random element from a list

D. Shuffles the elements of a list in place

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the function purpose

   random.randint(a, b) generates a random integer between two given numbers a and b, inclusive.

2. Step 2: Compare options with function behavior

   Returns a random integer N such that a ≤ N ≤ b correctly describes this behavior. Options A, C, and D describe other functions like random.uniform, random.choice, and random.shuffle.

3. Final Answer:

   Returns a random integer N such that a ≤ N ≤ b -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   random.randint = random integer in range [OK]

Hint: randint returns integers between two numbers inclusive [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing randint with random float functions
• Thinking randint returns a list element
• Mixing up randint with shuffle

2. Which of the following is the correct way to import the random module and use choice to pick a random element from a list items?

easy

A. import random; random.choice(items)

B. from random import randint; choice(items)

C. import random.choice; choice(items)

D. import random; random.randint(items)

Solution

1. Step 1: Check import syntax

   To use choice, you must import the random module fully or import choice specifically. import random; random.choice(items) imports the module correctly.

2. Step 2: Verify function usage

   import random; random.choice(items) calls random.choice(items), which is correct. from random import randint; choice(items) imports randint but tries to call choice without import. import random.choice; choice(items) has invalid import syntax. import random; random.randint(items) calls randint with a list, which is incorrect.

3. Final Answer:

   import random; random.choice(items) -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Correct import and call = import random; random.choice(items) [OK]

Hint: Import random module fully to use choice function [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Importing wrong functions
• Calling functions without module prefix
• Using randint instead of choice

3. What is the output of this code?

import random
items = ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry']
random.shuffle(items)
print(items)

medium

A. SyntaxError because shuffle returns a new list

B. ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry'] (always same order)

C. A new list with one random item from items

D. A randomly shuffled list of the original items

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand random.shuffle behavior

   random.shuffle rearranges the list elements in place randomly. It does not return a new list.

2. Step 2: Analyze the print output

   After shuffling, printing items shows the same list but with elements in random order. So output is a shuffled list, not the original order or a single item.

3. Final Answer:

   A randomly shuffled list of the original items -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   shuffle changes list order in place [OK]

Hint: shuffle changes list order in place, no new list returned [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Expecting shuffle to return a new list
• Thinking shuffle picks one random item
• Assuming list order stays same

4. The following code tries to pick a random element from a list but causes an error. What is the problem?

import random
items = ['red', 'green', 'blue']
print(random.choice(items, 1))

medium

A. random.choice needs the list to be converted to a tuple

B. random.choice requires the list to be sorted first

C. random.choice does not take two arguments

D. random.choice only works with strings, not lists

Solution

1. Step 1: Check random.choice function signature

   random.choice takes exactly one argument: a sequence (like a list). It returns one random element.

2. Step 2: Identify the error cause

   The code passes two arguments (items and 1), which is invalid and causes a TypeError.

3. Final Answer:

   random.choice does not take two arguments -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   choice takes one argument only [OK]

Hint: choice takes only one argument: the sequence [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Passing extra arguments to choice
• Thinking choice returns multiple items
• Confusing choice with sample

5. You want to generate a dictionary where keys are numbers from 1 to 5 and values are random integers between 10 and 20. Which code correctly does this?

hard

A. import random
result = {i: random.randint(10, 20) for i in range(1, 6)}

B. import random
result = {random.randint(10, 20): i for i in range(1, 6)}

C. import random
result = {i: random.choice(range(10, 20)) for i in range(1, 6)}

D. import random
result = dict(random.randint(10, 20) for i in range(1, 6))

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand dictionary comprehension syntax

   We want keys as numbers 1 to 5 and values as random integers between 10 and 20. The syntax is {key: value for key in iterable}.

2. Step 2: Check each option

   import random result = {i: random.randint(10, 20) for i in range(1, 6)} correctly uses i as key and random.randint(10, 20) as value for each i in 1 to 5.
   import random result = {random.randint(10, 20): i for i in range(1, 6)} swaps keys and values incorrectly.
   import random result = {i: random.choice(range(10, 20)) for i in range(1, 6)} uses random.choice(range(10, 20)) which produces integers 10-19 excluding 20, unlike randint(10,20).
   import random result = dict(random.randint(10, 20) for i in range(1, 6)) tries to convert a generator of integers to dict, which causes an error.

3. Final Answer:

   import random result = {i: random.randint(10, 20) for i in range(1, 6)} -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Correct dict comprehension with randint [OK]

Hint: Use dict comprehension with randint for random values [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Swapping keys and values
• Using dict() on generator of ints
• Using choice with range(10,20) excludes 20