Question

dentify five errors in this program, which is supposed to take the average mean of three numbers:

define average(one, two, three):
avg = one + two * three
return aver

print("The average of 6, 7, and 8 is: ," average(6, 7, 8))

Answer 1

Let's identify the errors in the provided program:

1. **Function Definition Syntax**: The function definition should use `def` instead of `define`. The correct keyword in Python is `def`.

**Fix**: Change `define` to `def`.

2. **Average Calculation**: The average calculation is incorrect. The formula should add the three numbers then divide by 3. The current formula incorrectly multiplies `two` and `three`.

**Fix**: Change the calculation to `avg = (one + two + three) / 3`.

3. **Return Value**: The variable returned in the function is misspelled. `aver` is not defined; it should return `avg`.

**Fix**: Change `return aver` to `return avg`.

4. **Print Statement Syntax**: The print statement has a syntax error. There should not be a comma outside the function call, which results in incorrect syntax.

**Fix**: Change `print("The average of 6, 7, and 8 is: ," average(6, 7, 8))` to `print("The average of 6, 7, and 8 is:", average(6, 7, 8))`.

5. **Missing Parentheses in Print**: This is a stylistic issue, but for clarity, you may want to ensure that the function and its usage follow consistent styling. Parentheses are correctly used for the print function in Python 3.

After fixing these errors, the corrected program would look like this:

```python
def average(one, two, three):
avg = (one + two + three) / 3
return avg

print("The average of 6, 7, and 8 is:", average(6, 7, 8))
```

This corrected code correctly computes and prints the average of the three numbers.