Week 2 Reflections

Weekly Recap

Congratulations! We have finished the second week of class. During this week, we starting writing our own programs during the lab and learned additional concepts to use in our algorithmic solutions to problems. As a recap:

• On Monday, we discussed four fundamental types of data that a computer can understand: integers (whole numbers), floats (decimal numbers), strings (pieces of text), and Boolean values (True/False). We considered what happens when different operation are applied to instances of those data types. We also explored what types of data we might need for creating a program that communicates a social calendar of events.
• On Wednesday, we learned about Boolean expressions, which enable a computer to decide if an important condition is True or False (e.g., whether the user gave a valid input, what type of action the user wants to perform). We also learned about if-elif-else statements that enable the computer to perform different parts of our algorithmic solutions, depending on whether different conditions are True or False. We looked at real-world examples of such decision making in the context of a user logging into a website, a user ordering food items from a menu, and providing personalized recommendation messages based on today's weather.
• On Friday, we introduced the concept of loops, which allow us to repeat parts of our solutions as many times as are necessary. In particular, we learned about for loops, which repeat instructions for a specific number of times. We considered real-world examples of loops in problems such as hide-and-seek, voting, and inviting friends to a party.
• In lab, we began using repl.it as an environment for creating Python programs. In those programs, we practiced interacting with a user (both collecting inputs and displaying outputs), as well as implementing short algorithms for solving specific problems.

Your Reflections

In this activity, you have the opportunity to reflect on your own experiences and connections with computer science. In particular, you should answer the following three questions:

You should type up your answers to the above questions in a single document using your favorite word processing software (e.g., Microsoft Word, Apple Pages, Google Docs), save the file as a PDF, and upload it to Gradescope under the assignment "Week 2 Reflections". Each answer should be at least one paragraph of 3-5 sentences (instead of 3-5 sentences total across all answers).

At the end of your document, please indicate that you have followed the honor code on this assignment by writing:

I have adhered to the Honor Code in this assignment.