In this lab students work independently or collaboratively to develop a deeper understanding of using pre-defined and building custom functions within Python. Through the implementation and analysis of six functions, students practice creating docstrings to describe both the functionality of each function and the inputs associated with each function. Each function illustrates a particular core feature within Python (such as performing calculations, interpolating values, executing checksums). This lab is particularly useful for students with little experience writing functions and for those interested in more practice using pre-defined functions.

In this assignment students update an existing graphics class. Students must add methods to translate, rotate, scale, and flip arbitrary shapes using turtle graphics. They then use this class and additional subclasses to draw an image of their choice. In addition to reviewing graphics, this assignment requires students to work with a class hierarchy. It is particularly useful for students who need additional practice with classes.

In this assignment students work either individually or in pairs to implement and crack a simple version of RSA. As subproblems in generating RSA keys, students must generate random primes, calculate Euler's totient, and find the greatest common divisor of two numbers using Euclid's algorithm. They must then encrypt/decrypt messages using these keys and use brute force as an attack against encryption. In addition to reviewing brute force and recursive algorithms, this assignment requires students to write a program with multiple helper functions.

In this assignment students work either individually or in pairs to implement the Huffman Compression. Before beginning to code, students must write a software design document that plans the functions that they will use. The program itself must prompt the user for a file and then compress the file using Huffman Compression. In addition to reviewing trees and dictionaries, this assignment requires students to carefully design and test their code. It is particularly useful for students who are new to trees and need additional practice designing large programs that involve more complex data structures.

In this assignment students implement a basic security protocol in which a key is distributed to multiple parties such that a certain number of parties must combine their knowledge to learn the full key. In addition, this assignment reviews the concepts of random number generation and floating point numbers, as well as requiring students to design their own decomposition. It is particularly useful for students who need practice decomposing problems.

In this assignment students work either individually or in pairs to implement the game Mastermind. Mastermind is a game in which the player has to guess a sequence of randomly chosen colors based on feedback about their previous guess. Students must program the game from the ground up, creating their own decomposition design, as well as error checking user input. This assignment requires students to think carefully about design, documentation, and debugging. It is particularly useful for students who need practice writing larger programs.

The authors of this material were awarded a 2015 NCWIT Engagement Excellence Award for this assignment. Learn more on NCWIT's awards page.

In this lab students work either individually or in pairs to create a game of their choosing using the VPython library. To start, students are given a basic program that shows a simple alien with limited control from the user. Students are required to make incremental changes to this program, adding more complex graphics and controls to make a more interesting game. This lab reviews classes and graphics, as well as requiring students to think about the control flow for their game. It is particularly useful for students who are new to classes and need additional practice designing classes, as well as writing methods and debugging code.

The authors of this material were awarded a 2015 NCWIT Engagement Excellence Award for this assignment. Learn more on NCWIT's awards page.

In this lab students work either in pairs or individually to write a program that displays the Mandelbrot set. Students incrementally write functions that help them deal with nested loops, complex numbers, and graphics until they have a program that can display and zoom in/out of the Mandelbrot set. There are optional parts to the assignment that deal with visualizing escape velocities and "Mandelbrotifying" an image. In addition to reviewing nested loops and graphics, this lab requires students to use constants and use incremental design. It is particularly useful for students who need additional practice with nested loops.

In this project students work in pairs to create a drawing. Using a provided graphics library, students must create a drawing whose location, size, and other parameters can be changed with different calls to a function. Students are allowed to choose what to draw, and there is a competition for the best drawings. In addition to teaching graphics, the project also requires students to work collaboratively on abstracting and decomposing their code.