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Say whether a list or a dictionary is the better choice for each, and why…
Contributed by StemPy LabTry it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
Say whether a list or a dictionary is the better choice for each, and why.
- The marks of one student in five tests, in the order of the tests.
- The phone number of each friend, found by the friend's name.
- The price of each item in a shop, found by the name of the item.
- The names of the days of the week, to be shown in order.
The worked solution
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Plan. Ask: do I find the items by position, or by a name?
- A list. The tests have an order, and you find a mark by its position (test 1, test 2, and so on).
- A dictionary. You look up by the friend's name, so the name is the key and the number is the value.
- A dictionary. The name of the item is the key and the price is the value.
- A list. The days have a fixed order, and we show them in that order. (A dictionary could also work with the numbers 0 to 6 as keys, but a list is simpler.)
Check. A good test: if you would write "find the ... of ..." with a name, a dictionary fits. If you would write "the third ...", a list fits.
Answer: list, dictionary, dictionary, list.
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