Python offers a companion to the division operator called the modulo operator. The modulo operator is indicated by %
and gives the remainder of a division calculation. If the number is divisible, then the result of the modulo operator will be 0.
# Prints 4 because 29 / 5 is 5 with a remainder of 4 print(29 % 5) # Prints 2 because 32 / 3 is 10 with a remainder of 2 print(32 % 3) # Modulo by 2 returns 0 for even numbers and 1 for odd numbers # Prints 0 print(44 % 2)
Here, we use the modulo operator to find the remainder of division operations. We see that 29 % 5
equals 4, 32 % 3
equals 2, and 44 % 2
equals 0.
The modulo operator is useful in programming when we want to perform an action every nth-time the code is run. Can the result of a modulo operation be larger than the divisor? Why or why not?
Instructions
You’re trying to divide a group into four teams. All of you count off.
person 1 goes to team 1
person 2 goes to team 2
person 3 goes to team 3
person 4 goes to team 4
person 5 goes to team 1
And so forth…
You’re person number 27.
Find out your team by computing 27 modulo 4. Save the value to my_team
.
Print out my_team
. What number team are you on?
Food for thought: what number team are the two people next to you (26 and 28) on? What are the numbers for all 4 teams? (Optional Challenge Question)