Instructions for animalQuiz

(produced at 13:26 UTC on 2026-02-12)

This task is part of project03 which is due at 23:00 EST on 2026-09-28.

This is an individual task that you must do on your own.

You can download the starter code for this task using this link.

See how to submit this task using this link.

Put all of your work for this task into the file animalQuiz.py
(you will create this file from scratch)

What animal are you similar to? In this task, you will write a quiz program that determines your animal based on answers to three questions:

  • Do you like to eat meat?
  • Do you like cold weather?
  • Do you like fuzzy things?

The answers to these three questions determine the animal shown in this table:

like meat? like cold? prefer fuzzy? animal
True True True polar bear
True True False orca
True False True tiger
True False False komodo dragon
False True True yak
False True False clam
False False True bunny
False False False tortoise

Your task is to create the following six functions in a new file named animalQuiz.py:

  1. boolFromResponse - Takes one argument (a string) and returns True if that string begins with 'Y' or 'y', returning False in all other cases. The .lower() and .startswith() methods of strings are helpful for this function; using .startswith() is required, and using .lower() is an extra goal. The sample output gives examples of how boolFromResponse should work. boolFromResponse must not call input, because it only looks at its parameter.

  2. boolFromUser - Takes one argument (a prompt string) and gathers input from the user using that prompt, before converting that input into a boolean using boolFromResponse, and returning that boolean. The sample output demonstrates how it should work.

  3. chooseAnimalIfStm1 - Takes three arguments, each a boolean: the first indicates whether the user likes meat or not, the second whether they like cold or not, and the third whether they like fuzzy things or not. Based on these three binary decisions, this function returns an animal string based on the table shown above. The sample output demonstrates how it should work. Note that chooseAnimalIfStm1 should not call boolFromUser: it gets boolean values as parameters, and does not itself ask for input. Furthermore, the body of this function must satisfy numerous implementation constraints:

  4. chooseAnimalIfStm2 - chooseAnimalIfStm2 is just an alternative implementation of chooseAnimalIfStm1 that has exactly the same behavior and implementation constraints as chooseAnimalIfStm1 except that it must use exactly 7 if/else statements, without using the elif keyword.

  5. chooseAnimalIfExp - chooseAnimalIfExp is just an alternative implementation of chooseAnimalIfStm1 and chooseAnimalIfStm2 that has exactly the same behavior as these two functions, but whose implementation must use exactly 7 if/else expressions (not statements), only a single return statement, and no occurrences of and, not/code>, ==/code>, or !=.

  6. animalQuiz - Takes zero arguments. It prompts the user with three yes/no questions, and then displays the animal determined by their answers. See the sample output below for the exact wording you must use. You must use the boolFromUser and chooseAnimalIfStm1 functions within this function, and you may not use input directly (use boolFromUser instead).

Interactive Testing

One way to test your functions is to first run your program in the editor window (to load the function definitions) and then enter sample calls of your functions in the interactive console to test that they work correctly. The behavior of each function should match the provided examples (we have included examples for boolFromResponse, boolFromUser, chooseAnimalIfStm1, and animalQuiz).

Automatic Testing

Interactive testing can be tedious, and it's easy to make mistakes if you're testing things every time you make one little change. We have provided a file called test_animalQuiz.py which will test your functions, although it does not check carefully enough to ensure that they will satisfy all of our extra tests during grading.

You can work from the provided test cases in the starter file as examples, and you are encouraged to use the examples given in this file as the basis for your test cases. We encourage you define your test cases before writing your code, and just comment them out until you're ready to use them, because this will ensure that you have a clear idea of the correct behavior when you start writing each function.

Notes

  • As usual, all of your functions must be documented.
  • Also as usual, you should not waste boxes and you must not waste fruit.
  • The Python string method .lower() returns a lower-case version of the string when called with zero arguments. The .startswith(s) method takes a single string as a parameter, and determines whether the string before the period begins with the string it got as a parameter. These examples show how these methods work. Note that case matters for .startswith.
  • In animalQuiz, you must ask exactly the same questions in the same order. Your printout should match the examples above. You can use this difference checker website to test for any minor differences in your output, and you could also set up tests in optimism for the correct output.

Examples

startswith and lower Examples

These examples demonstrate how the .startswith and .lower methods work.

In []:
'Wendy Wellesley'.startswith('Wend')


Out[]:
True


In []:
'Wendy Wellesley'.startswith('Well')


Out[]:
False


In []:
'Wendy Wellesley'.startswith('W')


Out[]:
True


In []:
'Wendy Wellesley'.startswith('w')


Out[]:
False


In []:
'Wendy Wellesley'.lower()


Out[]:
'wendy wellesley'


In []:
'CS111'.lower()


Out[]:
'cs111'


In []:
'SHOUT!'.lower()


Out[]:
'shout!'


In []:
'the quick brown fox'.lower()


Out[]:
'the quick brown fox'

boolFromResponse Examples

These examples demonstrate how boolFromResponse should work. Note that it doesn't recognize words for 'yes' that don't start with 'y'.

In []:
boolFromResponse('yes')

Out[]:
True


In []:
boolFromResponse('Yes')

Out[]:
True


In []:
boolFromResponse('yup')

Out[]:
True


In []:
boolFromResponse('Yellow')

Out[]:
True


In []:
boolFromResponse('y')

Out[]:
True


In []:
boolFromResponse('No')

Out[]:
False


In []:
boolFromResponse('nope')

Out[]:
False


In []:
boolFromResponse('maybe')

Out[]:
False


In []:
boolFromResponse('affirmative')

Out[]:
False

boolFromUser Examples

These examples demonstrate how boolFromUser should work. Note that unlike boolFromResponse, it gets input from the user instead of via a parameter.

In []:
boolFromUser('Are you sad? ')

Prints
Are you sad? yes


Out[]:
True


In []:
boolFromUser('Are you happy? ')

Prints
Are you happy? NO


Out[]:
False


In []:
boolFromUser('Are you mad? ')

Prints
Are you mad? absolutely!


Out[]:
False

chooseAnimalIfStm1 Examples

These examples demonstrate how chooseAnimalIfStm1 should work. Note that user input is not involved.

In []:
chooseAnimalIfStm1(False, False, True)

Out[]:
'bunny'


In []:
chooseAnimalIfStm1(True, False, False)

Out[]:
'komodo dragon'


In []:
chooseAnimalIfStm1(True, False, True)

Out[]:
'tiger'

animalQuiz Examples

These examples demonstrate how animalQuiz should work. Note that there are no parameters, and the user's answers determine the outcome.

In []:
animalQuiz()

Prints
What animal are you? Let's find out!
Do you like to eat meat? Nope
Do you like cold weather? yup!
Do you like fuzzy things? y

Your animal is the yak


In []:
animalQuiz()

Prints
What animal are you? Let's find out!
Do you like to eat meat? unsure
Do you like cold weather? maybe
Do you like fuzzy things? absolutely

Your animal is the tortoise

Rubric

Group goals:
 
unknown All functions are documented
Each function you define must include a non-empty documentation string as the very first thing in the function.
 
unknown Do not ignore the results of any fruitful function calls
According to the "Don't waste fruit" principle, every place you call a fruitful function (built-in or custom) you must store the result in a variable, or that function call must be part of a larger expression that uses its return value.
 
unknown Do not create any variables that you never make use of
According to the "Don't waste boxes" principle, every time you create a variable (using = or by defining a parameter for a function) you must also later use that variable as part of another expression. If you need to create a variable that you won't use, it must have the name _, but you should only do this if absolutely necessary.
 
unknown boolFromResponse must return the correct result
The result returned when your boolFromResponse function is run must match the solution result.
 
unknown boolFromResponse must return the correct result
The result returned when your boolFromResponse function is run must match the solution result.
 
unknown boolFromUser must return the correct result
The result returned when your boolFromUser function is run must match the solution result.
 
unknown boolFromUser must return the correct result
The result returned when your boolFromUser function is run must match the solution result.
 
unknown chooseAnimalIfStm1 must return the correct result
The result returned when your chooseAnimalIfStm1 function is run must match the solution result.
 
unknown chooseAnimalIfStm2 must return the correct result
The result returned when your chooseAnimalIfStm2 function is run must match the solution result.
 
unknown chooseAnimalIfExp must return the correct result
The result returned when your chooseAnimalIfExp function is run must match the solution result.
 
unknown The output of animalQuiz is approximately correct.
We will run animalQuiz with a variety of inputs, and examine everything that it prints, which should match what the solution code prints.
 
unknown The first animal name mentioned (spelling must be correct) of the output must be correct
the first animal name mentioned (spelling must be correct) of the output must match the solution's output.
 
unknown Define boolFromResponse with 1 parameter
Use def to define boolFromResponse with 1 parameter
 
unknown Call lower
Within the definition of boolFromResponse with 1 parameter, call lower in at least one place.
 
unknown Do not use a conditional
Within the definition of boolFromResponse with 1 parameter, do not use an if statement (possibly accompanied by an elif or else block).
 
unknown Define boolFromResponse with 1 parameter
Use def to define boolFromResponse with 1 parameter
 
unknown Do not call input
Within the definition of boolFromResponse with 1 parameter, do not call input.
 
unknown Call .startswith or use indexing
Within the definition of boolFromResponse with 1 parameter, you must either call the .startswith string method or use indexing to check the first letter of the response.
 
unknown Define boolFromUser with 1 parameter
Use def to define boolFromUser with 1 parameter
 
unknown Call input
Within the definition of boolFromUser with 1 parameter, call input in at least one place.
 
unknown Call boolFromResponse
Within the definition of boolFromUser with 1 parameter, call boolFromResponse in at least one place.
 
unknown Define chooseAnimalIfStm1 with 3 parameters
Use def to define chooseAnimalIfStm1 with 3 parameters
 
unknown Do not call boolFromUser
Within the definition of chooseAnimalIfStm1 with 3 parameters, do not call boolFromUser or boolFromResponse.
 
unknown Use a chained if/elif/.../else/else statement
Within the definition of chooseAnimalIfStm1 with 3 parameters, use a chained conditional that begins with an if, has 6 elifs, and ends with an else
.
 
unknown Use 8 returns
Within the definition of chooseAnimalIfStm1 with 3 parameters, use exactly 8 return statements.
 
unknown Use logical operators in each test
Within the definition of chooseAnimalIfStm1 with 3 parameters, each tests expression in an if or elif must use (potentially multiple occurrences of) the and operator and possibly the not operator.
 
unknown No comparisons or boolean literals in tests
Within the definition of chooseAnimalIfStm1 with 3 parameters, boolean test expressions in an if or elif must not use the comparison operators == or !=, nor the boolean literals True or False.
 
unknown Define chooseAnimalIfStm2 with 3 parameters
Use def to define chooseAnimalIfStm2 with 3 parameters
 
unknown Do not call boolFromUser
Within the definition of chooseAnimalIfStm2 with 3 parameters, do not call boolFromUser or boolFromResponse.
 
unknown Use a conditional
Within the definition of chooseAnimalIfStm2 with 3 parameters, use an if statement (possibly accompanied by an elif or else block) in at least one place.
 
unknown Define animalQuiz
Use def to define animalQuiz
 
unknown Call boolFromUser
Within the definition of animalQuiz, call boolFromUser in exactly 3 places.
 
unknown Call chooseAnimalIfStm1
Within the definition of animalQuiz, call chooseAnimalIfStm1 in exactly one place.
 
unknown Define animalQuiz
Use def to define animalQuiz
 
unknown Do not call input
Within the definition of animalQuiz, do not call input.
 
unknown Call boolFromUser
Within the definition of animalQuiz, call boolFromUser in at least one place.
 
unknown Call chooseAnimalIfStm1
Within the definition of animalQuiz, call chooseAnimalIfStm1 in at least one place.