Choosing a data type for a value

Name:

Date:

Class:

Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. A game keeps a player's score and adds 10 points each time they win. Which data type fits the score best?

A Number, because you calculate with it

B Text, because it has digits in it

2. Which data type is best for a phone number like 0412 345 678?

A Text, because you never add phone numbers

B Number, because it is made of digits

3. A game needs a value called hasFinished to show if a level is done. Which type should it be?

A Text, because it is a word

B True/false, because the answer is yes or no

4. You want to join a first name and a last name to show 'Mia Chen' on a screen. Which type do you use?

A Number, because you combine two things

B Text, because you join and show it

5. Which sentence explains the choice for a student's age that you will add up to find a class total?

A Number, because I will add the ages

B Text, because I will add the ages

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1score = 42		Aphone = "0412 345 678"
2hasFinished = True		BA phone number is stored as a number, so the leading 0 is lost. It should be text: phone = "0412345678".
3A phone number is text because you never add it and you need to keep the leading 0.		CA yes/no answer such as 'has finished' is a true/false value.
4Choose a number when you will calculate with the value, such as adding points.		DA yes/no answer is stored as text. It should be true/false: hasFinished = True.
5phone = 0412345678		EA score is a whole number because you add it up and compare it to other scores.
6hasFinished = "yes"		Ftotal = score + 10

Definitions

choose a data type

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

score ← 42 // data type: ______

phone ← "0412 345 678" // data type: ____

hasFinished ← true // data type: __________

phone is text _______ we never add it

score is a number because we ___ scores

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A score = 12

B bonus = 3

C total = score + "bonus"

D print(total)

Question 2

A phone = 0412345678

B print("Call " + phone)

C print(phone)

Question 3

A finished = "True"

B if finished:

C print("Well done!")

Question 4

A name = "Zoe"

B score = 25

C has_won = score > 20

D if has_won == "True":

E print(name, "wins!")

Question 5

A name = "Leo"

B qty = "six items"

C total = qty * 2

D print(name, total)

Answer Key

Choosing a data type for a value

Section A: Quick Questions

A — Number, because you calculate with it

A — Text, because you never add phone numbers

B — True/false, because the answer is yes or no

B — Text, because you join and show it

A — Number, because I will add the ages

Section B: Match the Pairs

score = 42 → A score is a whole number because you add it up and compare it to other scores.

hasFinished = True → A yes/no answer such as 'has finished' is a true/false value.

A phone number is text because you never add it and you need to keep the leading 0. → phone = "0412 345 678"

Choose a number when you will calculate with the value, such as adding points. → total = score + 10

phone = 0412345678 → A phone number is stored as a number, so the leading 0 is lost. It should be text: phone = "0412345678".

hasFinished = "yes" → A yes/no answer is stored as text. It should be true/false: hasFinished = True.

Section C: Definitions

choose a data type — Ask what you will do with the value: calculate with it (number), join or show it (text), or answer yes/no (true/false). A phone number is text because you never add it.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

score ← 42 // data type: number

phone ← "0412 345 678" // data type: text

hasFinished ← true // data type: true/false

phone is text because we never add it

score is a number because we add scores

Section E: Spot the Error

C — A score is a whole number because we calculate with it. Adding the text "bonus" to a number is an error. It should be total = score + bonus.

A — A phone number is text because we never add it, and a number would lose its leading 0. It should be phone = "0412345678" in quotes.

A — 'Has finished' is a yes/no answer, so it should be the true/false value True. In quotes it is just text. It should be finished = True.

D — has_won already holds a true/false value, so we use it directly. Comparing it to the text "True" is wrong. It should be if has_won:.

B — We will multiply the quantity, so it must be a number. Text like "six items" can't be used in a calculation. It should be qty = 6.