True or False? — Booleans & Comparisons

By the end of this lesson you can:

• Recognise True and False as Python's Boolean values.
• Predict the result of comparisons between numbers and between strings.
• Store a Boolean in a variable and use it inside an if statement.

Last lesson we used comparisons like age >= 13 inside if statements. We never paused to ask: what is the result of that comparison? Today, the answer takes centre stage.

Quick predict-the-output puzzle. What does each line print?

print(7 > 3)
print(5 == 5)
print("nasi" == "Nasi")
print(10 != 10)

Part 1 · True and False are values, just like 7 or "hello"

We already know about a few types of value:

• int — whole numbers like 12.
• float — decimal numbers like 3.14.
• str — text like "nasi lemak".

Today we add one more: bool, with exactly two values — True and False. Mind the capital letters; true with a small t is just a name Python doesn't know.

is_open    = True
is_closed  = False
print(is_open)
print(is_closed)

Part 2 · Every comparison returns a Boolean

The six comparison operators from last lesson don't just sit inside if. Each one produces a Boolean value that you can print, store, or pass around.

print(8 >= 8)
print(2 < 1)

answer = (5 + 5 == 10)
print(answer)

The line answer = (5 + 5 == 10) first computes the comparison (which is True), then stores that Boolean inside a variable called answer.

Part 3 · Storing a comparison in a variable

This is a really useful trick. Once you save a comparison in a Boolean variable, you can give it a name that reads almost like English.

age   = 12
is_teen = age >= 13
print(is_teen)

if is_teen:
    print("Welcome to the teens.")

Notice we wrote if is_teen:, not if is_teen == True:. Both work — but the shorter version reads better, because is_teen is already a Boolean.

Part 4 · Comparing strings

== and != work on text as well as numbers. Two strings are equal only if every character matches — Python is fussy about capital letters and even spaces.

print("apple" == "apple")
print("apple" == "Apple")
print("apple" == "apple ")
print("apple" != "orange")

Part 5 · Chained comparisons — a Python superpower

Many languages make you write age >= 13 AND age <= 19 to check "between 13 and 19". Python lets you write it the way you'd say it out loud:

age = 15
is_teen = 13 <= age <= 19
print(is_teen)

Read 13 <= age <= 19 as: "is 13 less than or equal to age, and age less than or equal to 19?". Both checks must be true for the whole chain to be True.

Cikgu Faridah wants a tiny program that turns a quiz score into a friendly result card. We'll compute three Boolean variables first, then print them, then react to them. Save this as result_card.py.

Code

# result_card.py — turn a score into Boolean results

name  = input("Student name? ")
score = int(input("Score out of 100? "))

# 1. Compute Booleans from comparisons
passed      = score >= 50
excellent   = score >= 80
full_marks  = score == 100

# 2. Print the raw Booleans, just to see them
print()
print(name, "scored", score)
print("Passed?     ", passed)
print("Excellent?  ", excellent)
print("Full marks? ", full_marks)

# 3. React using the Booleans
print()
if full_marks:
    print("🏅 Perfect score — luar biasa!")
elif excellent:
    print("Amazing work.")
elif passed:
    print("Nice — you cleared the pass mark.")
else:
    print("Keep practising — you'll get there.")

Two sample runs (lines you type are bold):

Output · top of the class

Student name? <strong>Aisyah</strong>
Score out of 100? <strong>92</strong>

Aisyah scored 92
Passed?      True
Excellent?   True
Full marks?  False

Amazing work.

Output · not quite there

Student name? <strong>Arjun</strong>
Score out of 100? <strong>38</strong>

Arjun scored 38
Passed?      False
Excellent?   False
Full marks?  False

Keep practising — you'll get there.

What changed from PY-L1-08?

Last lesson the comparison lived inside the if: if score >= 50:. Today we lifted the comparison out and gave it a name: passed = score >= 50. The if reads almost like English now — if passed:. Same logic, much friendlier code.

Type each task into your editor and run it with two or three different inputs.

a = 10 > 5
print(a)

b = ???
print(b)

c = ???
print(c)

name     = input("Username? ")
is_admin = (name == "admin")
if is_admin:
    print("Welcome, boss!")
else:
    print("Hello,", name)

Every comparison in Python returns a Boolean — either True or False. We can store these results in variables, give them readable names, and use them inside if statements to keep code clear. Python's chained comparison (13 <= age <= 19) is a friendly shortcut for "in this range".