Python Arithmetic Operators

Arithmetic Operators in Python

Basic Arithmetic Operators

• Python's arithmetic operators largely follow standard mathematical rules.

• Addition: Uses the plus sign $+$.

• Subtraction: Uses the minus sign $-$.

• Multiplication: Uses the asterisk sign $*$.

• Division: Uses the forward slash $/$.

Order of Operations

• Python adheres to the mathematical order of operations.

• Example: Multiplication happens before addition.

• Parentheses can be used to override the default order.

Exponentiation

• The exponentiation operator is represented by two asterisks: $$**$.

• Example: 3**2$calculates 3 to the power of 2, resulting in 9.</p></li></ul><h4 collapsed="false" seolevelmigrated="true">Bitwise XOR Operator</h4><ul><li><p>The caret sign$^$is <strong>not</strong> for exponentiation; it's a bitwise XOR operator.</p></li><li><p>Bitwise XOR is an arithmetic operator that doesn't follow standard mathematical rules.</p></li><li><p>It's not covered in this course, but further information is available in the notes.</p></li><li><p>Important: Using$^$instead of$$**$ for exponentiation can lead to unexpected results.

Modulo Operator

• Represented by the percent sign $$.

• Returns the remainder after division.

• Example: $9$ (nine modulo two) results in 1 because 9 divided by 2 is 4 with a remainder of 1.

Integer Division

• Denoted by two forward slashes: $$//$.

• Divides one integer by another and rounds the result down to the nearest integer.

• Example: 7 // 2$(seven integer divided by two) results in 3, because 7 divided by 2 is 3.5, which is rounded down to 3.</p></li><li><p>Rounding behavior: Integer division rounds down even for negative numbers.</p></li><li><p>Example:$-7 // 2$$ (negative seven integer divided by two) results in -4, because -3.5 is rounded down to -4.

Other Operator Categories

• There are other categories of operators in Python that will be covered later.