Python Operators and Expressions

Posted On February 1, 2023

In Python, an operator is a special symbol that performs an operation on one or more operands. For example, the addition operator + adds two operands. An expression is a combination of values, variables, and operators that produces a result.

Here are some common operators in Python:

Operator	Description	Example	Result
+	Addition	8 + 4	12
–	Subtraction	8 – 4	4
*	Multiplication	8 * 2	16
/	Division	8 / 2	4
%	Modulus	9 % 2	1
**	Exponentiation	2 ** 3	8
//	Integer Division	5 // 2	2

Sample Code

# Addition
print(2 + 3)  # Output: 5
print(2.5 + 3.5)  # Output: 6.0

# Subtraction
print(5 - 2)  # Output: 3
print(5.5 - 2.5)  # Output: 3.0

# Multiplication
print(2 * 3)  # Output: 6
print(2.5 * 3.5)  # Output: 8.75

# Division
print(4 / 2)  # Output: 2.0
print(4.5 / 1.5)  # Output: 3.0

# Modulus (remainder)
print(5 % 2)  # Output: 1
print(5.5 % 2.5)  # Output: 0.5

# Exponentiation
print(2 ** 3)  # Output: 8
print(2.5 ** 3.5)  # Output: 14.874786781169505

# Integer division (floor division)
print(5 // 2)  # Output: 2
print(5.5 // 2.5)  # Output: 2.0

Expression examples

Following are some examples of python expressions:

2 + 3 * 4  # Output: 14
(2 + 3) * 4  # Output: 20
5 / 2  # Output: 2.5
5 // 2  # Output: 2 (integer division)
5 % 2  # Output: 1 (remainder)
2 ** 3  # Output: 8 (2 to the power of 3)

In Python, operator precedence determines the order in which operations are performed. For example, in the expression 2 + 3 * 4, the multiplication * has higher precedence than the addition +, so it is performed first. You can use parentheses to specify the order of operations.