Introduction to Arithmetic Operators
Introduction
Arithmetic operators in Python are used to perform mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Python supports the following arithmetic operators:
- Addition (
+) - Subtraction (
-) - Multiplication (
*) - Division (
/) - Floor Division (
//) - Modulus (
%) - Exponentiation (
**)
Each operator performs a specific mathematical operation and is often used in expressions.
1. Addition (+)
The + operator adds two numbers.
Example:
x = 10
y = 5
result = x + y
print(f"Sum of {x} and {y}: {result}")
Output:
Sum of 10 and 5: 15
In this example, 10 + 5 results in 15.
Real-world Example:
Dodagatta Nihar wants to combine the scores from two games:
game1_score = 85
game2_score = 92
total_score = game1_score + game2_score
print(f"Total score: {total_score}")
Output:
Total score: 177
2. Subtraction (-)
The - operator subtracts one number from another.
Example:
x = 20
y = 8
result = x - y
print(f"Difference between {x} and {y}: {result}")
Output:
Difference between 20 and 8: 12
Real-world Example:
Harsha is calculating how many more points he needs to reach his goal:
goal = 100
current_points = 78
points_needed = goal - current_points
print(f"Harsha needs {points_needed} more points to reach his goal.")
Output:
Harsha needs 22 more points to reach his goal.
3. Multiplication (*)
The * operator multiplies two numbers.
Example:
x = 7
y = 6
result = x * y
print(f"Product of {x} and {y}: {result}")
Output:
Product of 7 and 6: 42
Real-world Example:
Vasanta Kumar wants to calculate the total cost of 5 books, each priced at 200:
book_price = 200
number_of_books = 5
total_cost = book_price * number_of_books
print(f"Total cost of books: {total_cost}")
Output:
Total cost of books: 1000
4. Division (/)
The / operator divides one number by another and returns a floating-point result.
Example:
x = 20
y = 4
result = x / y
print(f"Division of {x} by {y}: {result}")
Output:
Division of 20 by 4: 5.0
Real-world Example:
Praveen divides his total earnings of 5000 between himself and 4 friends:
total_earnings = 5000
number_of_friends = 4
share_per_person = total_earnings / number_of_friends
print(f"Each person gets: {share_per_person}")
Output:
Each person gets: 1250.0
5. Floor Division (//)
The // operator divides one number by another and returns the integer (whole number) part of the division, effectively rounding down.
Example:
x = 17
y = 3
result = x // y
print(f"Floor division of {x} by {y}: {result}")
Output:
Floor division of 17 by 3: 5
Real-world Example:
Dodagatta Nihar wants to distribute 25 apples evenly among 4 people, and he needs to know how many each will get:
total_apples = 25
people = 4
apples_per_person = total_apples // people
print(f"Each person gets {apples_per_person} apples.")
Output:
Each person gets 6 apples.
6. Modulus (%)
The % operator returns the remainder of the division of one number by another.
Example:
x = 20
y = 6
result = x % y
print(f"Remainder of {x} divided by {y}: {result}")
Output:
Remainder of 20 divided by 6: 2
Real-world Example:
Harsha is distributing candy and needs to know how many are left after giving an equal number to his 5 friends:
total_candies = 23
friends = 5
leftover_candies = total_candies % friends
print(f"Harsha has {leftover_candies} candies left over.")
Output:
Harsha has 3 candies left over.
7. Exponentiation (**)
The ** operator raises one number to the power of another.
Example:
x = 3
y = 4
result = x ** y
print(f"{x} raised to the power of {y}: {result}")
Output:
3 raised to the power of 4: 81
Real-world Example:
Vasanta Kumar wants to calculate the square of 7:
number = 7
square = number ** 2
print(f"The square of {number} is {square}.")
Output:
The square of 7 is 49.