Core Data Types and Control Flow

This unit develops fundamental Python skills for manipulating numbers, text, dates/times, collections, and program flow. Students practice numeric and string formatting, use operators, write conditionals and loops, and create commented functions and basic data structures to prepare for building modular programs.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze and manipulate Python numeric types (integers, floats, decimals, fractions) and apply built-in math functions to perform calculations and format numeric output accurately.
• Apply string and datetime operations to parse, transform, and present textual and temporal data using slicing, formatting, and standard library functions.
• Demonstrate control flow and decision-making by implementing conditionals with relational and logical operators and by constructing correct for and while loops to solve problems.
• Create and document reusable data structures and functions by defining and using lists, tuples, sets, and parameterized functions with clear comments and proper parameter passing.