Squares Comprehension

Write a function that returns the squares of every integer from 1 to n, using a list comprehension (not a for loop with .append()).

squares_up_to(n)

Examples

squares_up_to(5)   // → [1, 4, 9, 16, 25]
squares_up_to(1)   // → [1]
squares_up_to(3)   // → [1, 4, 9]

Walkthrough

Thinking it through

def squares_up_to(n):
    return [i * i for i in range(1, n + 1)]

This is a direct application of the list comprehension syntax from the lesson: [expression for variable in iterable]. The expression is i * i (the square), and the iterable is range(1, n + 1) — the same off-by-one adjustment from Sum To N to make sure n itself is included, since range(start, stop) always stops before stop.

Compare it to the loop version, which does exactly the same work with more ceremony:

def squares_up_to(n):
    result = []
    for i in range(1, n + 1):
        result.append(i * i)
    return result

Both produce identical output — the comprehension just says the same thing in one line instead of four, once the pattern is familiar.

main.py

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