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MIT OpenCourseWare

Browse materialsMIT 6.0001 · Fall 2016

Introduction to Computer Science and Programming in Python

Subjects: Computer Science · Language · Programming · Python · Science

Art: not stated, Fletcher's Combined Block Telegraph Apparatus and Bell, 1889 · Public domain

Instructors
Dr. Ana Bell, Prof. Eric Grimson, Prof. John Guttag
Term
Fall 2016
Level
Undergraduate
What's inside
65 videos · 6 problem sets · 9 solutions · 1 reading · 91 other files · 12 web pages
Materials open
Videos here · files on MIT OCW

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Start course: Lecture 1: What is Computation?Find a topic

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About this course

Source: MIT OpenCourseWare 6.0001 Introduction to Computer Science and Programming in Python, Fall 2016, Dr. Ana Bell, Prof. Eric Grimson, Prof. John Guttag — original course page on ocw.mit.edu ↗. License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Study order: MIT's own listing order, section by section. Taken from MIT's published course files, downloaded from ocw.mit.edu on September 23, 2026. The “How to start this course” route below is taken from MIT's own pages for this course, as fetched on September 25, 2026. How RedLectern is built.

Materials are grouped the way MIT organized them. A verified, course-wide order has not been established here.

Study route

How to start this course

Words in quotation marks are MIT’s own, from its pages for this course, linked under each part. The headings, labels and links are RedLectern’s.

Before you start

  • “6.0001 Introduction to Computer Science and Programming in Python is intended for students with little or no programming experience.”

From MIT: Syllabus ↗

What you'll learn

  • “Provide an understanding of the role computation can play in solving problems.”
  • “Help students, including those who do not plan to major in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, feel confident of their ability to write small programs that allow them to accomplish useful goals.”
  • “Position students so that they can compete for research projects and excel in subjects with programming components.”

From MIT: Syllabus ↗

Time

  • “This is a half-semester course.”
  • “Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1 hour / session”
  • “Recitations: 1 sessions / week, 1 hour / session”

From MIT: Syllabus ↗

What you need

  • “This course is based on Python 3.5.”
    “You can download the current and previous versions of Anaconda and Python from their respective sites.”

Books

  • The free book on our Start page for this course is a companion book, not a text this course assigns.
  • “Guttag, John. Introduction to Computation and Programming Using Python: With Application to Understanding Data Second Edition. MIT Press, 2016.”
  • “The book and the course lectures parallel each other, though there is more detail in the book about some topics.”

From MIT: Assignments ↗, Syllabus ↗

If this isn't the right fit

A Gentle Introduction to Programming Using Python (6.189, January IAP 2011)

  • “This course will provide a gentle, yet intense, introduction to programming using Python for highly motivated students with little or no prior experience in programming.”
  • “The course is designed to help prepare students for 6.01 Introduction to EECS I.”
  • “a special 4-week term at MIT that runs from the first week of January until the end of the month”

From MIT: 6.189 course home ↗

Your first sessions

  • “Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1 hour / session”

From MIT: Syllabus ↗

  1. Session 1: What is computation?

    This session on MIT’s site ↗

  2. Session 2: Branching and Iteration

    This session on MIT’s site ↗

Notes from MIT

  • “Quizzes and finger exercises are not available on OpenCourseWare.”
  • “Code blocks for in-class questions are currently not displaying the full text.”

From MIT: Syllabus ↗, In-Class Questions and Video Solutions ↗

Before you start

How this course was organized

What's here, and what isn't

  • MIT's own materials here did not support a verified, course-wide order, so they are grouped by section instead.

Not included here

7 items from the source could not be safely included:

  • MIT's page format for this item wasn't recognized clearly enough to place it safely. (5 items)
  • Referenced in a table, but without MIT's own verified order, so it isn't used to claim a sequence. (2 items)

Materials by section

Grouped by section, as MIT organized them. Not sequenced or ordered.

Instructor Insights

Lecture Slides and Code

24 files

In-Class Questions and Video Solutions

51 videos in this section

Lecture 1

Lecture 1 Video Solutions

Lecture 2

Lecture 2 Video Solutions

Lecture 3

Lecture 3 Video Solutions

Lecture 4

Lecture 4 Video Solutions

Lecture 5

Lecture 5 Video Solutions

Lecture 7

Lecture 7 Video Solutions

Lecture 8

Lecture 8 Video Solutions

Lecture 9

Lecture 9 Video Solutions

Assignments

8 files

Other materials from this course

1 video

65 video transcripts

MIT OpenCourseWare, Dr. Ana Bell, Prof. Eric Grimson, Prof. John Guttag, 6.0001 Introduction to Computer Science and Programming in Python, Fall 2016.

License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · Edition: Fall 2016 · Open the original course on OCW ↗

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