How to Identify Mango Trees in a Garden Grid Using Python: A Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction

Are you a Python beginner looking for a practical coding challenge? Do you love gardening? This tutorial combines both! In this post, we’ll create a simple Python program to identify mango trees in a garden arranged in a grid. By the end, you’ll have a solid grasp of conditional statements, modular arithmetic, and Python functions—all while solving a real-world problem.

Understanding the Problem: Mango Trees in a Grid

You’ve planted trees in your garden in a neat rectangular grid. Each tree has a unique number, assigned row by row. You decided to plant mango trees in:

• The first row.
• The first column of each row.
• The last column of each row.

Your task is to determine if a particular tree, identified by its number, is a mango tree.

Why This Problem Matters for Python Beginners

This problem is perfect for beginners because it covers:

• Conditional statements (if-else) to check conditions.
• Modular arithmetic to determine the position of a tree.
• Function design to encapsulate logic in a reusable way.

Step-by-Step Python Program to Identify Mango Trees

Here’s how you can write a Python program to solve this problem:

pythonCopy codedef is_mango_tree(rows, columns, tree_number):
    # Check if the tree is in the first row
    if tree_number <= columns:
        return "Yes"
    
    # Check if the tree is in the first column
    if tree_number % columns == 1:
        return "Yes"
    
    # Check if the tree is in the last column
    if tree_number % columns == 0:
        return "Yes"
    
    return "No"

# Example usage
rows = int(input("Enter the number of rows: "))
columns = int(input("Enter the number of columns: "))
tree_number = int(input("Enter the tree number: "))

result = is_mango_tree(rows, columns, tree_number)
print(result)

Breaking Down the Code: How It Works

1. Function Definition:

The is_mango_tree function takes three arguments:

• rows: Number of rows in your garden grid.
• columns: Number of columns in each row.
• tree_number: The specific tree number to check.

2. Checking the First Row:

If tree_number is less than or equal to columns, the tree is in the first row, making it a mango tree.

3. Checking the First Column:

If tree_number % columns == 1, the tree is in the first column.

4. Checking the Last Column:

If tree_number % columns == 0, the tree is in the last column.

5. Final Decision:

If none of the above conditions are true, the tree is not a mango tree, and the function returns “No”.

Test Cases: Validate Your Python Code

Testing your code ensures it works correctly. Here are some test cases:

• Test Case 1:
  • Input: rows = 5, columns = 4, tree_number = 3
  • Explanation: Tree 3 is in the first row.
  • Output: Yes
• Test Case 2:
  • Input: rows = 5, columns = 4, tree_number = 5
  • Explanation: Tree 5 is in the first column.
  • Output: Yes
• Test Case 3:
  • Input: rows = 5, columns = 4, tree_number = 8
  • Explanation: Tree 8 is in the last column.
  • Output: Yes
• Test Case 4:
  • Input: rows = 5, columns = 4, tree_number = 10
  • Explanation: Tree 10 is not in the first row, first column, or last column.
  • Output: No

Conclusion: Mastering Python with Real-World Problems

By following this guide, you’ve not only learned how to identify mango trees in a grid using Python but also strengthened your understanding of core programming concepts. This simple exercise shows how Python can be applied to solve real-world problems, making learning fun and relevant.