pythonLogic errorEasy

Word search misses a match at the start

Time: 0:00

BugFind the bug and fix the code

What it should do

mentions(text, word) returns True if word appears anywhere in text. Example: mentions("hello world", "hello") → True.

What happens instead

mentions("hello world", "hello") returns False, and mentions("hello world", "xyz") returns True.

def mentions(text, word):
    if text.find(word):
        return True
    return False

Test a custom input to verify an edge case (e.g. empty lists, negative numbers, duplicates).

⏱️0:00

Hints

🏆 0 hints = Flawless Solve

Hint 2

Unlocks after Hint 1

Hint 3

Unlocks after Hint 2

This bug belongs to the logic errors pattern

The wrong operator, an inverted condition, a formula the right way round but backwards.

Learn the logic errors pattern Step through your own code

Spoiler: why this bug happens(try it first; the hints get warmer one at a time)

What went wrong: find() returns a position. A match at the start is 0, which counts as false. No match is -1, which counts as true.

The fix: return word in text

Remember: do not use a position or a count as a yes/no answer.

The pattern behind it: logic errors.

More logic errors to practise

Embed this challenge on your site

Paste this into any web page or blog post. Visitors fix the bug right there, in their browser.

<iframe src="https://trybughunt.com/embed/068ffa28-d264-42cf-9f8f-da5973a31ed2" title="Debugging challenge: Word search misses a match at the start" width="100%" height="580" loading="lazy" style="border:1px solid #d4d4d8;border-radius:12px;max-width:760px"></iframe>
<p style="font-size:14px">Debugging challenge from <a href="https://trybughunt.com/challenges/068ffa28-d264-42cf-9f8f-da5973a31ed2">TryBugHunt</a></p>

pythonLogic errorEasy

Word search misses a match at the start

Time: 0:00

BugFind the bug and fix the code

What it should do

mentions(text, word) returns True if word appears anywhere in text. Example: mentions("hello world", "hello") → True.

What happens instead

mentions("hello world", "hello") returns False, and mentions("hello world", "xyz") returns True.

def mentions(text, word):
    if text.find(word):
        return True
    return False

Test a custom input to verify an edge case (e.g. empty lists, negative numbers, duplicates).

⏱️0:00

Hints

🏆 0 hints = Flawless Solve

Hint 2

Unlocks after Hint 1

Hint 3

Unlocks after Hint 2

This bug belongs to the logic errors pattern

The wrong operator, an inverted condition, a formula the right way round but backwards.

Learn the logic errors pattern Step through your own code

Spoiler: why this bug happens(try it first; the hints get warmer one at a time)

What went wrong: find() returns a position. A match at the start is 0, which counts as false. No match is -1, which counts as true.

The fix: return word in text

Remember: do not use a position or a count as a yes/no answer.

The pattern behind it: logic errors.

More logic errors to practise

Embed this challenge on your site

Paste this into any web page or blog post. Visitors fix the bug right there, in their browser.

<iframe src="https://trybughunt.com/embed/068ffa28-d264-42cf-9f8f-da5973a31ed2" title="Debugging challenge: Word search misses a match at the start" width="100%" height="580" loading="lazy" style="border:1px solid #d4d4d8;border-radius:12px;max-width:760px"></iframe>
<p style="font-size:14px">Debugging challenge from <a href="https://trybughunt.com/challenges/068ffa28-d264-42cf-9f8f-da5973a31ed2">TryBugHunt</a></p>

Word search misses a match at the start

What it should do

What happens instead

More logic errors to practise

Related errors

Word search misses a match at the start

What it should do

What happens instead

More logic errors to practise

Related errors