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Year 10
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Validating data input in a program

I can explain the purpose of validation checks and use iteration to ensure data entered is reasonable.

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New
New
Year 10
OCR

Validating data input in a program

I can explain the purpose of validation checks and use iteration to ensure data entered is reasonable.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Validation checks are used to ensure that data that is entered is reasonable and expected.
  2. Iteration is used to ensure the validation checks are implemented correctly.

Keywords

  • Validation - checking that data is acceptable by comparing it against a set of criteria

  • Crash - when a program suddenly stops working and closes unexpectedly, often due to an error it cannot recover from

Common misconception

A program will automatically ask people to try again if data is invalid.

The program will only ask for data to be input again if it has been programmed to do so; otherwise it will run with invalid data and may crash.


To help you plan your year 10 computer science lesson on: Validating data input in a program, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Demonstrate what happens when validation is missing. Show how a program crashes or accepts invalid data. Live code an example using a while loop to validate input, highlighting how iteration ensures only reasonable data is accepted.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Code in this lesson is made using Python. Code examples use the RPF Code Editor but any Python IDE is suitable.

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is a module in programming?
Correct answer: a file that contains pre-made code you can use in your programs
a type of variable used in loops
a function that repeats tasks
a method to debug code
Q2.
What is the Python standard library?
a type of Python application
a library for storing data
a tool for debugging code
Correct answer: a collection of built-in modules
Q3.
Which module is used to generate unpredictable numbers in Python?
math
Correct answer: random
string
time
Q4.
What type of loop is typically used for repeating until data is valid?
infinite loop
for loop
Correct answer: while loop
nested loop
Q5.
Which function is used to convert user input to an integer?
Correct Answer: int, int()
Q6.
What command is used to bring a module into your Python program?
Correct Answer: import

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the keywords to their definitions:
Correct Answer:validation,checking data is acceptable by comparing it against a set of criteria

checking data is acceptable by comparing it against a set of criteria

Correct Answer:crash,when a program stops functioning and exits unexpectedly

when a program stops functioning and exits unexpectedly

Correct Answer:iteration,repeating tasks until a condition is met

repeating tasks until a condition is met

Q2.
Which of the following is an example of validation?
Correct answer: checking if a number is between 1 and 10
printing a message
importing a module
using a for loop
Q3.
What happens if a program does not explicitly include instructions to handle invalid data?
the program automatically asks for valid data
Correct answer: the program runs with invalid data and may crash
the program fixes the invalid data automatically
the program stops accepting any input
Q4.
Arrange the steps to validate user input:
1 - prompt the user for input
2 - check if the input meets the condition
3 - use a loop to repeat if invalid
4 - exit the loop when valid
Q5.
What type of loop is commonly used for validation?
Correct Answer: while loop, while
Q6.
What is the purpose of a validation error message?
to store invalid data
to stop the program
Correct answer: to inform the user that input is incorrect
to automatically fix the input