Introduction to Arithmetic and Operators

Operators are symbols that perform specific operations on values or variables. Arithmetic operators are used to perform mathematical calculations.

In this lesson, you’ll learn the basic arithmetic operators in Python.

Basic Arithmetic Operators

Here are some common arithmetic operators in Python:

• + : Addition (e.g., 2 + 3 gives 5).
• - : Subtraction (e.g., 7 - 2 gives 5).
• * : Multiplication (e.g., 4 * 3 gives 12).
• / : Division (e.g., 10 / 2 gives 5.0).

Examples of Arithmetic Operators

Let’s look at some examples:

# Arithmetic operators in Python
a = 10
b = 5
print(a + b)  # Addition
print(a - b)  # Subtraction
print(a * b)  # Multiplication
print(a / b)  # Division

Integer Division and Modulus

Python also provides:

• //: Integer Division (e.g., 10 // 3 gives 3).
• %: Modulus (remainder) (e.g., 10 % 3 gives 1).

These operators are useful when you need precise control over division.

# Integer division and modulus
a = 10
b = 3
print(a // b)  # Integer division
print(a % b)   # Modulus

Exponentiation

You can raise a number to the power of another using **:

# Exponentiation
result = 2 ** 3
print(result)  # 8

Operator Precedence

Python follows the order of operations: 

• Parentheses (()) 
• Exponentiation (**) 
• Multiplication, Division, Modulus (*, /, %, //) 
• Addition, Subtraction (+, -)

For example:

# Operator precedence
result = 2 + 3 * 4
print(result)  # 14

Using Parentheses to Change Precedence

You can use parentheses to change the order of operations:

# Changing precedence with parentheses
result = (2 + 3) * 4
print(result)  # 20

Combining Arithmetic with Variables

Arithmetic operations can be combined with variables:

# Combining arithmetic with variables
x = 5
y = 2
z = x ** y + x / y
print(z)

What Did We Learn?

In this lesson, you learned:

• The basic arithmetic operators in Python: +, -, *, /.
• How to use //, %, and ** for integer division, modulus, and exponentiation.
• The importance of operator precedence and using parentheses to change it.

Great job! Let’s move on to the next topic.