Conditional Statements

Welcome to the next section of our Python learning journey! In this page, we will dive into the world of conditional statements. Conditional statements allow us to make decisions in our code based on certain conditions. They are an essential part of programming and are used to control the flow of execution.

There are mainly two types of conditional statements in Python – if statement and if-else statement. Let’s explore each type in detail:

The if Statement

The if statement is used to execute a block of code if a certain condition is met. It follows a specific syntax:

if condition:
# code to be executed if the condition is True

The condition in the if statement is an expression that evaluates to either True or False. If the condition is True, the block of code indented under the if statement will be executed. If the condition is False, the block of code is skipped.

Let’s take an example to understand this better:

x = 10

if x > 5:
print("x is greater than 5")

In this example, since the condition x > 5 is True, the code inside the if statement is executed and the output will be “x is greater than 5”.

The if-else Statement

The if-else statement is used when we want to execute different blocks of code based on whether a condition is True or False. The syntax for the if-else statement is as follows:

if condition:
# code to be executed if the condition is True
else:
# code to be executed if the condition is False

If the condition is True, the code inside the if block is executed. If the condition is False, the code inside the else block is executed.

Let’s consider an example:

age = 17

if age >= 18:
print("You are eligible to vote.")
else:
print("You are not eligible to vote.")

In this example, if the age is greater than or equal to 18, the output will be “You are eligible to vote.” Otherwise, the output will be “You are not eligible to vote.”

These are the basic conditional statements in Python. As you progress, you will come across more advanced conditional statements such as if-elif-else and nested if statements.

Conditional statements are powerful and essential tools in programming as they allow applications to make decisions based on data. They add flexibility and enable you to write more intelligent and dynamic code.

Now that you’ve learned about conditional statements, it’s time to practice them! Make sure to complete the exercises and quizzes provided in this chapter to solidify your understanding.

In the next section, we will explore loops, another important aspect of control structures in Python.