Python Basics

Course by zooboole,

Last Updated on 2025-02-26 16:14:49

Arithmetic Operations

Arithmetic operations are essential in any programming language. Python provides various operators to perform calculations.

Basic Arithmetic Operators

Python supports the following arithmetic operations:

Operator Symbol Example Description
Addition + 10 + 5 Adds two numbers
Subtraction - 10 - 5 Subtracts second number from first
Multiplication * 10 * 5 Multiplies two numbers
Division / 10 / 5 Returns a floating-point division result
Floor Division // 10 // 3 Returns the quotient without the remainder
Modulus % 10 % 3 Returns the remainder of division
Exponentiation ** 2 ** 3 Raises a number to a power

Examples of Arithmetic Operations

a = 10  
b = 3  

print("Addition:", a + b)  # 13  
print("Subtraction:", a - b)  # 7  
print("Multiplication:", a * b)  # 30  
print("Division:", a / b)  # 3.3333  
print("Floor Division:", a // b)  # 3  
print("Modulus:", a % b)  # 1  
print("Exponentiation:", a ** b)  # 1000

Order of Operations (PEMDAS Rule)

Python follows PEMDAS (Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication/Division, Addition/Subtraction) for evaluating expressions.

Example: 

result = 5 + 2 * 3  
print(result)  # Output: 11 (Multiplication first)  

result = (5 + 2) * 3  
print(result)  # Output: 21 (Parentheses first)

Using Arithmetic Operators with Different Data Types

print(10 + 3.5)  # Output: 13.5 (int + float = float)  
print("Hello" * 3)  # Output: HelloHelloHello (String repetition)

Exercise: Try It Yourself!

  1. Calculate 15 % 4 and print the result.
  2. Compute (8 + 2) ** 2 / 5 and print the result.
  3. Multiply "Python" by 3 and print the result.
  4. Predict and print the output of 7 // 2.