Lesson 12: While loops
KS4 - Programming
Starter activity
Make a prediction (think, pair, share)
print("What’s your name?") Question Can you predict what the outcome
name = input() of running this program will be?
while name != "Hedy":
Tip: while block These statements are to be
print("Try again Hedy")
repeated.
name = input()
Tip: while condition This condition is
print(f"Hello, {name}")
checked at the beginning of each loop.
Answer This program will keep asking the
user for their name, until the name is "Hedy",
at which point it will display a greeting.
Objectives
Lesson 12: While loops
In this lesson, you will:
● Define iteration as a group of instructions that are repeatedly executed
● Modify a program to incorporate a while loop
3
Activity 1
Iteration
Programs repeat actions, checking for a terminating condition at the beginning of
each new loop.
Activity 1
Iteration
while condition
: You will need a while statement:
block of When your program needs to repeat actions, while a
statements
condition is satisfied.
Activity 1
Iteration: step-by-step execution
print("What’s your name?") State .
name = input()
name "Margaret"
while name != "Hedy": True
print("Try again Hedy") Input/output .
name = input()
What’s your name?
print(f"Hello, {name}")
User types Margaret
Try again Hedy
User types Ada
Activity 1
Iteration: step-by-step execution
print("What’s your name?") State .
name = input()
name "Ada"
while name != "Hedy": True
print("Try again Hedy") Input/output .
name = input()
What’s your name?
print(f"Hello, {name}")
User types Margaret
Try again Hedy
User types Ada
Try again Hedy
User types Hedy
Activity 1
Iteration: step-by-step execution
print("What’s your name?") State .
name = input()
name "Hedy"
while name != "Hedy": False
print("Try again Hedy") Input/output .
name = input()
What’s your name?
print(f"Hello, {name}")
User types Margaret
Try again Hedy
User types Ada
Try again Hedy
User types Hedy
Hello Hedy
Activity 1
Subtle points
print("What’s your name?") Question .
name = input() ⨯
What difference will it make if the line in red is
while name != "Hedy": removed?
print("Try again Hedy") 1A. It will make no difference.
name = input() ▹ 2B. There’s no initial value for name:
print(f"Hello, {name}") An error will occur when checking the
condition in while.
3C. There’s no initial value for name:
An error will occur when executing print.
4D. There’s no initial value for name:
The program will execute normally.
Activity 1
Subtle points
print("What’s your name?") Question .
name = input() What difference will it make if the line in red is
while name != "Hedy": removed?
print("Try again Hedy") (Assume the first name is not "Hedy".)
name = input() ⨯
1A. It will make no difference.
print(f"Hello, {name}") 2B. The value for name is never modified:
An error will occur when checking the
condition in while.
▹ 3C. The value for name is not modified:
The program will never terminate.
Activity 2
Adding iteration to a ‘guess the number’ game
number = 4
Live coding
print("Guess a number between 1 and 10")
guess = int(input())
if guess != number:
print("Incorrect")
else:
print("Correct")
Activity 3
Extending the ‘guess the number’ game
For the next activity you will be doing
some pair programming.
Remember to swap driver and
navigator roles regularly.
Use the worksheet to guide you through
the challenges.
Plenary
Parson’s Puzzle
Use the plenary worksheet to complete
the Parson’s Puzzle activity.
Plenary
Parson’s Puzzle: solution
print("Guess the word")
word = input()
while word != "Raspberry":
print("Try again...")
word = input()
print(f"Well done, the word was {word}!")
Homework
Homework: Complete the ‘guess the number’ game
Complete all aspects of the ‘Extending
the guess the number game’ worksheet,
including the explorer tasks.
Make sure that each person in the pair has
their own copy of the code.
Due: Next lesson
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Summary
Next lesson
In this lesson, you… Next lesson, you will…
Learnt about iteration and applied a while Use selection within a while loop.
loop to your code.
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