Python Operators

You will use Python operators to calculate, compare values, and combine conditions.

10 min read 10 quiz questions

Arithmetic operators

Operator	Meaning	Example
+	Addition	2 + 3 gives 5
-	Subtraction	7 - 2 gives 5
*	Multiplication	4 * 3 gives 12
/	Division	7 / 2 gives 3.5
//	Floor division	7 // 2 gives 3
%	Remainder	7 % 2 gives 1
**	Power	2 ** 3 gives 8

Arithmetic operators can split a total and calculate powers.

total = 17
people = 4
print(total // people)
print(total % people)
print(2 ** 5)

17 // 4 keeps only the whole-number result, so it prints 4. 17 % 4 prints the leftover 1. Finally, 2 ** 5 means 2 to the fifth power, which is 32.

Assignment and comparison

Operator	Meaning	Example
=	Assign a value	score = 10
+=	Add, then assign	score += 2
-=	Subtract, then assign	score -= 2
*=	Multiply, then assign	score *= 2
/=	Divide, then assign	score /= 2

Operator	Meaning	Example
==	Equal to	5 == 5
!=	Not equal to	5 != 3
>	Greater than	5 > 3
<	Less than	3 < 5
>=	Greater than or equal to	5 >= 5
<=	Less than or equal to	3 <= 5

Assignment updates a variable, and comparison operators produce Boolean values.

score = 8
score += 4
print(score)
print(score >= 10)
print(score == 12)

+= adds 4 to the current score, so the first line is 12. The next two comparisons ask whether 12 meets each condition. Both answers are True.

Logical membership and identity

Operator	Meaning	Example
and	True when both conditions are true	age >= 18 and has_ticket
or	True when either condition is true	is_weekend or is_holiday
not	Reverses a Boolean value	not is_closed

Operator	Meaning	Example
in	Value appears in a collection	'a' in 'cat'
not in	Value does not appear in a collection	4 not in [1, 2, 3]

Operator	Meaning	Example
is	Checks whether two names refer to the same object	item is None
is not	Checks whether two names do not refer to the same object	item is not None

Logical, membership, and identity operators help you test values.

age = 20
has_ticket = True
word = 'python'
value = None
print(age >= 18 and has_ticket)
print('py' in word)
print(value is None)
print(2 + 3 * 4)

The first three tests are true: the age and ticket conditions both pass, 'py' appears in the word, and the value is exactly None. Python follows precedence rules: multiplication happens before addition, so 2 + 3 * 4 is 14. Use parentheses when you want to make the order clear.

Key points

Use // for whole-number division and % for a remainder.
Compound assignment updates a variable in place.
Comparisons produce True or False.
Use in for membership and is mainly for None.
Parentheses make evaluation order clear.

Worked example

Four friends share a 1250-taka dinner. Floor division gives everyone's share; modulo tells what is left over for the tip bowl.

Example

bill = 1250
friends = 4
share = bill // friends
leftover = bill % friends
print(share, leftover)

How it works, step by step

// divides and throws away the fraction: 1250 // 4 = 312.
% keeps only the remainder: 1250 % 4 = 2 taka.
Together they describe a complete division.

References & Further Reading

Related entries from PyLabs's own reference library.

pow() (Raise a number to a power.)
abs() (Returns the absolute (non-negative) value of a number or magnitude of a complex number.)
round() (Round a number to a chosen number of digits.)

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Practice exercise

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Set apples to 23 and boxes to 5. Print how many whole apples go in each box, then print the number left over.

Expected output:

4 3

# Write your code below

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