Day 19: Leveling Up in Python While Crushing SAT Prep

Hello, fellow learner !!! 👋

Today marks another productive step in my journey through Python programming and SAT preparation. The dual-track approach continues to keep my mind engaged and prevents burnout on either front.

Python Progress

Today I focused on expanding my Python skills with more advanced concepts:

List Comprehensions

I've been working with regular for loops for a while, but today I discovered the elegant power of list comprehensions. Instead of writing:

squares = []
for x in range(10):
    squares.append(x**2)

I can now write this much more concisely:

squares = [x**2 for x in range(10)]

It's amazing how much cleaner the code looks! I also learned that you can add conditional logic:

even_squares = [x**2 for x in range(10) if x % 2 == 0]

Function Practice

I created several reusable functions to solve common problems. One function that I'm particularly proud of checks if a string is a palindrome:

def is_palindrome(text):
    # Remove spaces and convert to lowercase
    clean_text = ''.join(text.lower().split())
    # Check if the string equals its reverse
    return clean_text == clean_text[::-1]

# Testing the function
print(is_palindrome("Race car"))  # True
print(is_palindrome("Hello world"))  # False

I'm finding that writing functions makes my code more modular and easier to test.

SAT Progress

On the SAT front, I tackled some challenging Reading and Math sections today:

Reading Comprehension Breakthroughs

I've identified a pattern in my mistakes on reading passages. I was often rushing through the text and making assumptions. My new strategy:

1. Actively read the passage once, taking mental notes

2. For each question, refer back to the specific part of the text

3. Find explicit evidence for my answer choice

This more methodical approach has already improved my accuracy by about 15%!

Math Section Insights

Geometry problems have been my weak spot, especially those involving circles and triangles. I created a cheat sheet with all the key formulas:

• Area of a circle: πr²

• Circumference: 2πr

• Area of a triangle: (1/2) × base × height

• Pythagorean theorem: a² + b² = c²

After drilling several practice problems using these formulas, I'm feeling much more confident.

Connecting the Dots

I'm starting to see interesting connections between programming logic and SAT problem-solving. Both require:

• Breaking complex problems into smaller parts

• Recognizing patterns

• Applying systematic approaches

Tomorrow, I plan to work on dictionary data structures in Python and practice more SAT writing questions with a focus on grammar rules.

The consistent practice is paying off - I can feel my skills improving daily!