Math Operations

Arithmetic Operators

Python can do all basic math. These are your building blocks for data calculations.

Division vs Floor Division (Important!)

10 / 3      # 3.3333...   ← Regular division (always float)
10 // 3     # 3           ← Floor division (rounds down to integer)
10 % 3      # 1           ← Remainder (10 = 3*3 + 1)

Real example: Converting minutes to hours and minutes

total_minutes = 125
hours = total_minutes // 60      # 2 hours
remaining_minutes = total_minutes % 60  # 5 minutes
print(f"125 minutes = {hours}h {remaining_minutes}m")  # 2h 5m

Order of Operations (PEMDAS)

Python follows the standard math order:

1. P — Parentheses first
2. E — Exponents
3. MD — Multiplication & Division (left to right)
4. AS — Addition & Subtraction (left to right)

2 + 3 * 4        # 14  (not 20!)
(2 + 3) * 4      # 20
10 - 3 - 2       # 5   (left to right: (10-3)-2)
2 ** 3 ** 2      # 512 (right to left: 2**(3**2) = 2**9)

The math Module

For advanced math, import Python's built-in math module:

import math

math.sqrt(16)       # 4.0
math.pi             # 3.14159265...
math.ceil(4.2)      # 5 (round up)
math.floor(4.8)     # 4 (round down)
math.abs(-5)        # 5 (absolute value)
math.log(100, 10)   # 2.0 (logarithm)

Variable Assignment Shortcuts

Python provides shortcuts for updating variables:

score = 0
score = score + 10     # Traditional
score += 10            # Shortcut (cleaner!)

# Works for all operators:
score -= 5             # score = score - 5
score *= 2             # score = score * 2
score /= 10            # score = score / 10