Description
Tortoise vs. Hare (60 pts)
Write a program that simulates the classical race between the tortoise and the hare (with a
couple modifications). You will use the turtle module to provide an aerial view of the race!
The tortoise and hare will race in a ‘course’ of 200 pixels. Each animal starts at the ‘starting line’
which is position x = -100 in the turtle window. The finish line is at position x = 100 and the first
animal to reach the finish line wins the race and the prize (a pail of fresh organic lettuce and
carrots). In this program, the course is up the side of a slippery mountain, so the animals can
occasionally lose ground.
The tortoise’s starting position will be at (-100, 0) and the hare’s starting position will be at
(-100, 50). To ensure that each animal remains in their own lane, the y coordinate should not
change for the duration of the race. (This also prevents the animals from using dirty tactics, like
biting or kicking.)
(Note: Diagram shows the tortoise, represented by the turtle cursor, and the hare represented
by the classic cursor at position x = -100 (indicated by the line called start). The cursor has been
resized in the code, to make it easier to see during the race. Despite the graphics, the tortoise
does not actually have a head start!)
Each animal has specific move types that correspond to their movement in the course. The
animal, move type, probability of move type and actual move is shown in the table below:
Animal Move Type Probability of Move Actual Move
Tortoise Fast Plod 50% 3 spaces forward
Slip 20% 5 spaces backward
Slow Plod 30% 1 space forward
Hare Sleep 20% No movement
Big Hop 20% 7 spaces forward
Big Slip 10% 10 spaces backward
Small Hop 30% 1 space forward
Small Slip 20% 2 spaces backward
The race is managed by a ‘clock’ (loop) that ticks once per ‘second’ (iteration). While the race
has not been won, your program should adjust the position of the tortoise and the hare on the
course, with each ‘tick of the clock’ (i.e., iteration in the loop). The race (i.e., loop) ends when
one or both of the animals reaches position x = 100 in the window.
Programming tasks
1. Create two value returning functions to keep track of the hare and tortoise’s positions.
(between x = -100 and x = 100). The function should accept one parameter and return
one value.
a. The parameter represents an animal’s initial and current x-positions, and the
value returned would be the animal’s new x-position in the race.
b. The body of the functions should include a random number generator (RNG) to
simulate the movements passed on their probability. A random number should
be generated for each animal within the range 1 £ num £ 10. This RNG is
essential for determining the animals’ movements in the track.
Example: For the tortoise, a random integer in the range 1 £ num £ 5 should
result in a fast plod (as that movement will occur 50% of the time). Similarly, a
random integer in the range 6 £ num £ 7 should result in a slip, and a random
integer in the range 8 £ num £ 10 should produce a slow plod.
c. Occasionally, the RNG can cause the animal to slip beyond the starting and
ending positions. Use if statements to check the boundaries of the race. If an
animal slips past x = -100, reset their position to -100. Similarly, if the animal’s
position does beyond x = 100, reset the position to 100.
2. The main portion of the code must use functions from the turtle module to construct
the course and display the race. The course is created by using additional ‘turtle’ objects
to draw lines, (i.e. the starting and ending lines) or write messages as well as the serve
as the placeholders for the racing animals (one for the tortoise and one for the hare.).
a. Use the function Turtle() to create additional turtle objects to use. You can
assign names to the turtle to distinguish between the objects. (E.g. writing bob =
turtle.Turtle() allows you to use bob to call some of the other functions from the
module, such as bob.pendown(). ) You can create as many objects that you need
to draw the course or display messages for your race.
b. Use the shape() function to determine which cursors to use to represent the
tortoise of the hare. Optional: You can resize the cursor by using the
shapesize(w,l, outline) function
c. Notice that the race only shows two turtle objects. Use the hideturtle() function
to make some turtles invisible. Use these objects to draw the start and end lines
(using forward(pixels), backward(pixels), left(angle) or right(angle)). A turtle
should be used to display messages with the write() function in the window.
d. Use the setpos(x,y) function to move turtles to positions in your window. Don’t
forget to use penup() and pendown() to determine when the objects should
draw while moving or not.
e. Optional: You can use the title() function to label your window.
3. The main portion of your code must also include a while loop to run the race. Create a
variable that will serve as the clock for the race, and add 1 to it for each iteration of the
loop. The loop is controlled by the variables that represent both the hare’s and the
tortoises x-position (starting at -100 for each). The loop will run until one or both
animals’ value reaches x = 100.
4. Once the loop stops, determine the winner of the race. If the value in Tortoise’s xposition is greater than or equal to the value in the Hare’s x-position, then the Tortoise
wins. (Yes, the Tortoise wins in the event of a tie, as the Hare is convinced that a tie is
statistically unlikely.) Otherwise, the Hare wins. In each case, print out a message to
indicate the winner of the race, as well as the number of iterations it took to complete
the race.
Sample output
The outputs below show possible outcomes of the race. Your results may vary.
Tips:
• Keep in mind that a second is represented by an iteration and is not an actual second.
• You will need at least two functions:
o A function to control the tortoise’s movements
o A function to control the hare’s movements
• A main function is not required. You are welcome to create one if you wish, and you can
create more functions if you think it will help with organization.
• Using colors for your window background or turtles’ objects are optional.