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Python Data Structures Module 1 Assignment 6.5 Quiz Answers

6.5 Write code using find() and string slicing (see section 6.10) to extract the number at the end of the line below. Convert the extracted value to a floating point number and print it out.

 

Answer:

text = “X-DSPAM-Confidence: 0.8475”;
startPos = text.find(‘:’)
piece = text[startPos+1:]
end = float(piece)
print(end)

 

Explanation:

Given Line of Text

text = "X-DSPAM-Confidence: 0.8475"

This is a string that contains a label followed by a colon and a floating-point number with some spaces in between.

Step 1: Find the position of the colon

startPos = text.find(':')

  • .find(':') searches for the first occurrence of the colon character : in the string.

  • It returns the index (position) of that colon.

  • In this case, the colon is after "X-DSPAM-Confidence".

Step 2: Slice the string to get the part after the colon

piece = text[startPos+1:]

  • startPos + 1 moves one character past the colon.

  • text[startPos+1:] slices the string from that position to the end.

  • So now piece contains the string " 0.8475" (with leading spaces).

Step 3: Convert the string to a float

end = float(piece)

  • This converts the sliced string " 0.8475" to a float 0.8475.

  • Python automatically ignores the leading spaces when converting strings to numbers.

Step 4: Print the result

print(end)

  • This prints the floating-point number:

    0.8475

✅ Summary:

  • You find where the : is.

  • Slice everything after the colon.

  • Convert that slice to a float.

  • Print the result.