[Type B] Working with Functions – Chapter 3 Sumita Arora

11. Consider the code below and answer the questions that follow:

def multiply(number1, number2):
    answer = number1 * number2
    return answer
print(number, 'times', number2, '=', answer)
output = multiply(5, 5)

1. When the code above is executed, what gets printed?
2. What is variable output equal to after the code is executed?

Solution:

(i) This code will result in a NameError because number, number2, and answer are not defined anywhere in the code. Thus, no output will be printed.
(ii) Since the code raises an error, output won’t be assigned any value.

Final Ans:
(i) No output due to NameError.
(ii) output remains undefined due to the error in the code.

More explanation on this below:

1. Undefined Variables: The variables number, number2, and answer are referenced before they are defined. This will result in a NameError.
2. Function Call Before Print Statement: The function multiply is called after the print statement. Therefore, answer is referenced before it’s assigned a value. This will result in a NameError as well.

Output in Console:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "example.py", line 4, in <module>
    print(number, 'times', number2, '=', answer)
NameError: name 'number' is not defined

Explanation of Output:

• The print statement tries to output the values of number, number2, and answer, but these variables are not defined. Hence, Python raises a NameError for each undefined variable.

Final Explanation:

• The code attempts to print the values of number, number2, and answer without defining them first. Additionally, the function multiply is called after the print statement, leading to a reference to answer before it’s assigned a value. These errors result in NameError exceptions being raised, indicating that the referenced names are not defined.