Arithmetic operators are used to do mathematical operations on values or variables.
What is an Arithmetic Operator?
An arithmetic operator is one or more symbols that tells the computer what mathematical operation it should perform on values or variables.
The most common arithmetic operators are
- + (Addition)
- - (Subtraction)
- * (Multiplication)
- / (Division)
- % (Modulus)
- ** (Exponentiation)
In the example below, we use the / operator to divide the number 27 by 9 :
Runnable example
print(27 / 9)Use the simulation below to see the result of different arithmetic operations:
Addition of Strings
The addition operator + can also be used to put text strings together, so that "Hello" + " World" results in the combined string "Hello World" .
Runnable example
print("Hello" + " World")The Modulus Operator
The modulus operator % returns the remainder of the division. If 7 apples are divided between 3 people, each person gets 2 apples and there is 1 apple left over. 7 % 3 is 1 (the remainder).
Runnable example
print(7 % 3)The Exponentiation Operator
The exponentiation operator raises the first operand to the power of the second, which means that 2 3 is the same as 2 * 2 * 2 , which equals 8 .
Writing 2 ** 3 mathematically looks like this: 2^3 = 8.
Runnable example
print(2 ** 3)Note
The exponentiation operator ** is not supported in Java and C++, so the functions Math.pow(2, 3) and pow(2, 3) are used instead.