Question

An element in a dictionary has two parts. What are they called?

Short answer

Answer: The two parts of an element in a dictionary are the key and the value. The key is used to uniquely identify an element in the dictionary and can be any immutable data type, such as strings, numbers, or tuples. The value is associated with the unique key and can be any data type, including lists, other dictionaries, or custom objects.

Step-by-step solution

Definition of a Dictionary

A dictionary is a collection of key-value pairs, where each element has a unique key and an associated value. In Python, dictionaries are created using curly brackets, and each key-value pair is separated by a colon.

Part 1: Key

The first part of an element in a dictionary is called the "key." A key is used to identify a unique element in the dictionary. Keys can be any immutable data type such as strings, numbers, or tuples. Example of keys: "name", 123, ("apple", "banana")

Part 2: Value

The second part of an element in a dictionary is called the "value." Each value is associated with a unique key. Values can be any data type, including lists, other dictionaries, or custom objects. Example of values: "John Doe", [4, 5, 6], {"x": 5, "y": 10}

Example of a Dictionary with Key-Value Pairs

Here is a short example of a dictionary with key-value pairs: phonebook = { "Alice": "555-1234", "Bob": "555-5678", "Charlie": "555-9876" } In this dictionary, the keys are the names "Alice", "Bob", and "Charlie", and the values are their respective phone numbers.