A data analyst needs to count the frequency of each word in a list of words. Which data structure is most appropriate for storing the counts, and which loop correctly updates it?

Use a list of tuples and count occurrences using the count() method for each word.

Use a dictionary and for each word, increment its count using dict.get() with a default of 0.

Use a set and add each word to the set, then use len() to get the count of unique words.

Use a dictionary and for each word, use a try-except to handle KeyError when incrementing.

A data analyst is writing a script to process a large dataset. The script currently has many global variables and repeated code blocks. Which best practice would most improve the script's maintainability and readability?

Use more global variables to avoid passing arguments.

Write the entire script as a single large block of code.

Add comments to every line of code.

Encapsulate repeated logic into functions and pass data as parameters.

A data analyst has a list of tuples, each containing (product_id, price). The analyst needs to create a dictionary mapping product_id to price, but only for products with a price greater than 0. Which code snippet accomplishes this?

result = {price: pid for pid, price in products if price > 0}

result = {pid: price for price, pid in products if price > 0}

result = {pid: price for pid, price in products if price > 0}

result = {pid: price for pid, price in products}

A data analyst needs to write a function that accepts a variable number of keyword arguments representing column names and their default values, and returns a dictionary of those arguments. Which function definition is correct?

def get_defaults(**kwargs): return kwargs

def get_defaults(kwargs): return kwargs

def get_defaults(**kwargs): return dict(kwargs)

def get_defaults(*args): return args

A data analyst is using a Jupyter notebook to explore a dataset. They need to see the documentation for the pandas DataFrame method 'merge'. Which command should they use?

print(pd.DataFrame.merge.__doc__)

Python InstitutePCAD - Certified Associate in Data Analytics with Python

Domain 2Objective 1

Core Python Proficiency PCAD-31 Practice Questions (Page 10)

Part of the Programming and Database Skills domain, which accounts for 33.3% of the PCAD-31 exam. Python Institute does not publish an official question count, but from its 60-minute exam (~25–40 total, ~8–8 in this domain), expect 2–2 from this objective — we provide 50 practice questions to prepare you well beyond it. (estimate)

50questions here

10free pages

5concepts

33.3%of the exam

Questions 46–50

46application · medium
A data analyst needs to count the frequency of each word in a list of words. Which data structure is most appropriate for storing the counts, and which loop correctly updates it?
Select an answer first
47application · medium
A data analyst is writing a script to process a large dataset. The script currently has many global variables and repeated code blocks. Which best practice would most improve the script's maintainability and readability?
Select an answer first
48application · medium
A data analyst has a list of tuples, each containing (product_id, price). The analyst needs to create a dictionary mapping product_id to price, but only for products with a price greater than 0. Which code snippet accomplishes this?
Select an answer first
49application · easy
A data analyst needs to write a function that accepts a variable number of keyword arguments representing column names and their default values, and returns a dictionary of those arguments. Which function definition is correct?
Select an answer first
50application · easy
A data analyst is using a Jupyter notebook to explore a dataset. They need to see the documentation for the pandas DataFrame method 'merge'. Which command should they use?
Select an answer first

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