These prompts deepen practice with concepts already taught. They are not required for full credit, are not extra-credit requirements, and add no final-project features. Choose at most one after the matching lesson if you want more practice. Instructors can offer it instead of a repeated practice attempt, never instead of an essential first example.
Allow about 3–5 minutes as a provisional guide. Stop and ask for help if it becomes a larger task. Use the original notebook cell: predict → change one thing → run → explain. There is no separate submission unless you and your instructor agree to use the work as evidence for an already assigned task.
| After | Existing example | Optional prompt |
|---|---|---|
| Module 4 | Total expenses | Set one expense to zero. Predict the new total, run it, and explain why the total changed. Keep the same variables and calculation. |
| Module 6 | Review of Decision-Making: disk_usage > 80 |
Try exactly 80, then 81. Predict whether each prints a warning. Explain the boundary in plain language; do not change the comparison. |
| Module 7 | First Loop Example | Change range(3) to range(0). Predict how many messages appear, run it, and explain why no message is not necessarily an error. |
| Module 8 | Mini Lab: system readings | Try a one-item list such as [80]. Predict the total and average. Keep the loop and explain why the results agree. Do not use an empty list for this prompt. |
| Module 8 | Data Processing and Mini Lab | Use the same nonempty readings in both examples. Compare sum(readings) with the running-total loop. Which version helps you explain the calculation? Do not add new syntax. |
| Module 9 | Function with Parameter: device status | Call the existing function with a different synthetic device name. Explain which output changes and which stays the same. Keep its one parameter. |
Use: “I expected ___. I observed ___. This happened because ___.” Describe your own result rather than copying someone else's reflection.
Instructors should offer these as choices, not as the next required level. Avoid additional libraries, file handling, complex input validation, or larger applications. Learners who finish early can also improve an output label or explain an existing solution more clearly without writing more code.