Welcome to the Treehouse Community

Want to collaborate on code errors? Have bugs you need feedback on? Looking for an extra set of eyes on your latest project? Get support with fellow developers, designers, and programmers of all backgrounds and skill levels here with the Treehouse Community! While you're at it, check out some resources Treehouse students have shared here.

Looking to learn something new?

Treehouse offers a seven day free trial for new students. Get access to thousands of hours of content and join thousands of Treehouse students and alumni in the community today.

Start your free trial

Python Python Basics (2015) Number Game App Squared

Posted by Marcus Yang
Marcus Yang
7,476 Points

Python basic

This challenge is similar to an earlier one. Remember, though, I want you to practice! You'll probably want to use try and except on this one. You might have to not use the else block, though. Write a function named squared that takes a single argument. If the argument can be converted into an integer, convert it and return the square of the number (num ** 2 or num * num). If the argument cannot be turned into an integer (maybe it's a string of non-numbers?), return the argument multiplied by its length. Look in the file for examples.

squared.py 
# EXAMPLES
# squared(5) would return 25
# squared("2") would return 4
# squared("tim") would return "timtimtim"
def squared(num):
    try:
        if num == int(num):
            return num * num
    except:
        return num * len(num)
print(squared("tim"))

1 Answer

Steven Parker
Steven Parker
231,275 Points
Steven Parker
Steven Parker
231,275 Points

Your program converts the argument to an integer, but only to compare it with the unconverted version. The comparison isn't actually needed, plus the converted value isn't being saved so it can be squared.

Also, you only need to define the function. You don't need to call it yourself, and you don't need to "print" anything.