Equality

Learning Objective

1. If two things are equal, the order we
2. Python can help us distinguish if two things are equal.

Lesson

In math, we use the equals sign ('=') when we want to say two things are the same. For example the equation, 1 + 1 = 2 tells us that the left side, 1 + 1 is the same as the right side, 2.

If an equation is correct, we say that it is True. So 1 + 1 = 2 is True. But if an equation is incorrect or wrong, we say it is False. The equation 1 + 1 = 3 is False

A computer can help us solve math equations. Try this: Copy and paste the code below in your editor. What happens when you run it?

print(1 + 1 == 2)

You should notice that the computer displays True. This is because the equation 1 + 1 == 2 is True.

Careful! Did you notice that when we asked the computer to check our equation, a double equal sign == was used, not a single equals sign =. When we program, to check if two things are the same, we always use two equals signs ==.

Try this

1. Run the code below and see what happens. Is this true or false?

   print(3 + 6 == 9)

2. What if we change the order? Is this true of false?

   print(9 == 3 + 6)

3. Python can help us do math. Is this equation True or False? 156 * 45 == 8020

4. What happens if we forget to use a double equals sign?

   print(9 = 3 + 6)

Equality with variables

Sometimes it can be harder to tell if two things are the same. Consider the example below.

number_one = 47
number_two = 47

print(number_one == number_two)

What do you think with be printed out?