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LESSON 80 OF 410 · CONDITIONAL STATEMENTS

Logical Operators: And

Lesson Read the full explanation

TL ; DR:

We use the and operator inside if statements to check if multiple conditions are being met:

car = 'Ford'
year = 1993

if car == 'Chevrolet' and year > 1985:
    print("This is a great car!")
else:
    print("Not my style")

Full lesson:

Sometimes you will need to test more than one thing at a time. The logical and operator returns True if and only if both conditions to the left and right of it are True. For example:

10 == 10 and 7 < 10 # Evaluates to True

We have two conditions separated by and operator:

10 == 10, which evaluates to True
7 < 10, which evaluates to True

As both conditions evaluate to True, the entire line will evaluate to True

An example inside an if statement:

x = 10
if x != 7 and 12 < x: # Evaluates to False
    print("This is true!")

Inside the if, we have two conditions separated by and operator:

x != 7, equivalent to 10 != 7, which evaluates to True
12 < x, equivalent to 12 < 10, which evaluates to False

As one of the conditions evaluates to False, the entire statement will evaluate to False, and so the program prints nothing.

Assignment
Follow the Coding Tutorial and play with the and operator.

Hint
Look at the examples above if you get stuck.

STEP 1 OF 2

Guided

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PYTHON · CONDITIONAL STATEMENTS

And Operator in Python, explained

Python's `and` Operator: Requiring Multiple Conditions to be True

Real decisions are rarely based on a single fact. A user can log in only if their username and password are correct. A discount applies only if the cart total is above $50 and the user is a member. Python's and operator lets you express exactly these kinds of multi-condition rules — cleanly and intuitively.

How `and` Works: The Truth Table

and returns True only when both sides are True. If either side is False, the whole expression is False:

print(True  and True)    # True  — both true
print(True  and False)   # False — right side is false
print(False and True)    # False — left side is false
print(False and False)   # False — both false

Think of it as a strict requirement: every condition must pass.

Using `and` in if Statements

age = 25
has_license = True

if age >= 18 and has_license:
    print("You can drive.")
else:
    print("You cannot drive.")
# You can drive.

# Change one condition:
has_license = False
if age >= 18 and has_license:
    print("You can drive.")
else:
    print("You cannot drive.")
# You cannot drive.  ← one False makes the whole thing False

Real-World Examples

# Login validation — both must match:
username = "alex"
password = "secure123"

if username == "alex" and password == "secure123":
    print("Access granted.")
else:
    print("Access denied.")

# Discount eligibility — two conditions required:
cart_total = 75
is_member = True

if cart_total >= 50 and is_member:
    discount = cart_total * 0.10
    print(f"10% discount applied: ${discount:.2f} off")
else:
    print("No discount available.")

# Age range check:
age = 20
if age >= 18 and age <= 25:
    print("Young adult pricing applies.")

Chaining Multiple `and` Conditions

You can chain as many and conditions as you need. All of them must be True for the block to run:

def can_graduate(gpa, credits_earned, fees_paid):
    if gpa >= 2.0 and credits_earned >= 120 and fees_paid:
        return "Eligible to graduate!"
    return "Requirements not met."

print(can_graduate(3.5, 130, True))   # Eligible to graduate!
print(can_graduate(3.5, 130, False))  # Requirements not met.
print(can_graduate(1.8, 130, True))   # Requirements not met.

Short-Circuit Evaluation: Python Stops Early

Python evaluates and expressions left to right and stops as soon as it finds a False. This is called short-circuit evaluation and it matters for performance and safety:

my_list = []

# Safe: if list is empty, the second condition never runs (no IndexError):
if len(my_list) > 0 and my_list[0] == 42:
    print("First item is 42")
else:
    print("List is empty or first item isn't 42")

Put the cheapest or most likely to fail condition first — Python won't bother evaluating the rest.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Confusing and with or: and requires ALL conditions; or needs just ONE.
Writing if x == 1 and 2: instead of if x == 1 and x == 2: — The second form always evaluates 2 as truthy. Repeat the variable name for each comparison.

x = 1

# BUG — "and 2" is always True (non-zero integer):
if x == 1 and 2:
    print("This runs — but probably not what you meant")

# CORRECT:
if x == 1 and x == 2:
    print("This never runs because x can't be both 1 and 2")

# Probably intended:
if x == 1 or x == 2:
    print("x is 1 or 2")   # This runs

Key Takeaways

and returns True only when both sides are True.
One False anywhere in an and chain makes the whole expression False.
Python short-circuits — it stops evaluating as soon as it finds a False.
Use and when a condition must satisfy multiple independent requirements simultaneously.

What to Learn Next

Now that you know and, explore the or operator (True if at least one condition is True) and the not operator (inverts a boolean). Together, these three logical operators let you express any decision your program needs to make.

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