PCAP-31-03 1.3 Generate Random Values Using the Random Module PCAP-31 Practice Questions (Page 1)

Questions 1–5

1. 1foundation · easy

   What is the range of possible values that can be returned by a call to random.random()?

   • A0.0 (exclusive) to 1.0 (inclusive)
   • B0.0 to 1.0, inclusive of both endpoints
   • C0.0 (inclusive) to 1.0 (exclusive)
   • D0.0 (exclusive) to 1.0 (exclusive)
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
2. 2foundation · easy

   What happens if you call random.choice([]) with an empty list?

   • AIt raises an IndexError
   • BIt returns an empty string
   • CIt raises a ValueError
   • DIt returns None
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4. 3expert · hard

   A developer is writing a simulation that uses random.random() to generate probabilities and random.choice() to select events. The simulation must be reproducible when a specific seed is provided, but must use a different seed on each run when no seed is provided. The developer writes the following code: ```python import random import sys if len(sys.argv) > 1: random.seed(int(sys.argv[1])) else: random.seed() # simulation code using random.random() and random.choice() ``` The developer runs the simulation twice with the same seed and gets different results. What is the most likely cause?

   • AThe simulation uses random.choice() which is not affected by seeding.
   • BThe simulation calls random.seed() again inside the simulation code.
   • CThe seed value is too large and causes an overflow.
   • DThe simulation uses random.random() which is not affected by seeding.
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5. 4foundation · easy

   Given the list colors = ['red', 'green', 'blue'], which expression returns a single random color from the list?

   • Arandom.random(colors)
   • Brandom.choice(colors)
   • Crandom.sample(colors, 1)
   • Drandom.shuffle(colors)
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6. 5expert · hard

   A data analyst is writing a script to randomly split a dataset of 1000 rows into a training set (700 rows) and a test set (300 rows). The split must be reproducible, and the two sets must not overlap. The analyst writes: ```python random.seed(42) train = random.sample(data, 700) test = random.sample(data, 300) ``` The analyst discovers that some rows appear in both train and test. What is the most likely cause?

   • Arandom.sample() allows duplicates within a single call.
   • BThe seed value 42 is too small for a dataset of 1000 rows.
   • CThe two random.sample() calls are independent, so they can select overlapping rows.
   • Drandom.sample() returns a list, so the rows are not comparable.
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first