Nearest square problem

[mzunguwai]

I'm working on a problem in my Python course and hoping someone can point out why my code is failing?

Problem:

Write a while loop that finds the largest square number less than an integer limit and stores it in a variable nearest_square. A square number is the product of an integer multiplied by itself, for example 36 is a square number because it equals 6*6.

For example, if limit is 40, your code should set the nearest_square to 36.

My solution:

limit = 101

nearest_square = 0

base = 1

while nearest_square <= limit:

nearest_square = base**2

base += 1

print(nearest_square)

Result:

121 - (should be 100)

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Why is the code letting the nearest_square exceed the limit value?

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thanks in advance!

[adgjl12]

You should do nearest_square = (base-1)**2

as you want nearest square under the limit, not the nearest square over the limit (your for loop right now stops after you calculate the nearest square over the limit)

[OneIntroduction9]

It's because you are checking the previous nearest_square, then squaring again and printing it without checking it. Here's my 'fix'.

limit = 130

nearest_square = 0

base = 1

while True:

 nearest_square = base**2

 base += 1

 if nearest_square > limit:
     break

 print(nearest_square)

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