ECT Python Program: Midpoint Between Two Points

At a glance…

Core subject(s)	Mathematics
Subject area(s)	Pre-Algebra
Suggested age	9 to 12 years old

Overview

Use this program to apply students’ knowledge of the midpoint formula and automatically calculate the midpoint between two points (x1, y1) and (x2, y2). Have students analyze or fill in parts of the program to help reinforce their understanding. This program could be used to further your understanding of how you could use Python in the classroom, as a demonstration or discussion with your students, or as a way to introduce various CT concepts, such as pattern recognition or abstraction, to your students by inviting them to extend the existing functionality of the program.

Python Program

# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");

# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.

# You may obtain a copy of the License at

# http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software

# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,

# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.

# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and

# limitations under the License.

"""Calculate midpoint between two points (x1, y1) and (x2, y2)"""

# Get the first point

print "we will calculate the midpoint between (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) for you."

x1 = input("what is x1? ")

y1 = input("what is y1? ")

x2 = input("what is x2? ")

y2 = input("what is y2? ")

# midpoint formula is: ((x1+x2)/2, (y1+y2)/2)

# let's calculate:

x_point = (x1 + x2) / 2

y_point = (y1 + y2) / 2

print "midpoint is (", x_point, ",", y_point, ")"

Additional Information and Resources

Computational Thinking Concepts*

Concept	Definition
Abstraction	Identifying and extracting relevant information to define main idea(s)
Pattern Recognition	Observing patterns, trends, and regularities in data

* Explore the Computational Thinking Concepts Guide for a list of the CT concepts noted on ECT, including tips for implementing each concept in your classroom

Additional Resource Links

Visit https://www.python.org/downloads/ to download the latest version of Python 2.x
See Introduction to Python for information on how to introduce and use Python in your curriculum
See the Python Basics Quick Reference for an overview of the basic features of Python

Administrative Details

Contact info	For more info about Exploring Computational Thinking (ECT), visit the ECT website (g.co/exploringCT)
Credits	Developed by the Exploring Computational Thinking team at Google and reviewed by K-12 educators from around the world.
Last updated on	01/15/2015
Copyright info	Except as otherwise noted, the content of this document is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, and code samples are licensed under the Apache 2.0 License.

ECT Python Program: Midpoint Between Two Points of