pythonbeginner10 minutes

Fix the Sum Calculation Bug in a List of Numbers

A beginner-level debugging challenge to fix a Python function that is supposed to calculate the sum of a list of numbers but currently returns an incorrect result.

Challenge prompt

The function `calculate_sum` should take a list of numbers and return their total sum. However, the current implementation returns an incorrect value. Identify and fix the bug so the function returns the correct sum.

Guidance

• Check how the sum is being accumulated inside the loop.
• Make sure to initialize the sum correctly before the loop.
• Verify the loop iterates through all elements in the list.

Hints

• Look at the starting value of the variable that holds the total sum.
• Check the variable names inside the loop; they might be mutated incorrectly.
• Confirm that the sum is updated by adding each number, not overwriting it.

Starter code

def calculate_sum(numbers):
    total = 0
    for num in numbers:
        total = num
    return total

Expected output

calculate_sum([1, 2, 3, 4, 5]) # Output: 15

Core concepts

loopsvariablesfunctionsbasic debugging

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