Python - Math Module

Some of the most popular mathematical functions are defined in the math module. These include trigonometric functions, representation functions, logarithmic functions, angle conversion functions, etc. In addition, two mathematical constants are also defined in this module.

Pi is a well-known mathematical constant, which is defined as the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle and its value is 3.141592653589793.

import math

print(math.pi)  #output: 3.141592653589793

Another well-known mathematical constant defined in the math module is e. It is called Euler's number and it is a base of the natural logarithm. Its value is 2.718281828459045.

import math

print(math.e)  #output: 2.718281828459045

The math module contains functions for calculating various trigonometric ratios for a given angle. The functions (sin, cos, tan, etc.) need the angle in radians as an argument. We, on the other hand, are used to express the angle in degrees. The math module presents two angle conversion functions: degrees() and radians(), to convert the angle from degrees to radians and vice versa. For example, the following statements convert the angle of 30 degrees to radians and back (Note: π radians is equivalent to 180 degrees).

import math

print(math.radians(30))  #output: 0.5235987755982988

print(math.degrees(math.pi/6))  #output: 29.999999999999996

The following statements show sin, cos and tan ratios for the angle of 30 degrees (0.5235987755982988 radians):

import math

print(math.sin(0.5235987755982988))  #output: 0.49999999999999994

print(math.cos(0.5235987755982988))  #output: 0.8660254037844387

print(math.tan(0.5235987755982988))  #output: 0.5773502691896257

You may recall that sin(30)=0.5, cos(30)=32 (which is 0.8660254037844387) and tan(30)= 13 (which is 0.5773502691896257).

math.log()

The math.log() method returns the natural logarithm of a given number. The natural logarithm is calculated to the base e.

import math

print(math.log(10))  #output: 2.302585092994046

math.log10()

The math.log10() method returns the base-10 logarithm of the given number. It is called the standard logarithm.

import math

print(math.log10(10))  #output: 1.0

math.exp()

The math.exp() method returns a float number after raising e to the power of the given number. In other words, exp(x) gives e**x.

import math

print(math.exp(10))  #output: 22026.465794806718

This can be verified by the exponent operator.

import math

print(math.e**10)  #output: 22026.465794806703

math.pow()

The math.pow() method receives two float arguments, raises the first to the second and returns the result. In other words, pow(4,4) is equivalent to 4**4.

import math

print(math.pow(2,4))  #output: 16.0

math.sqrt()

The math.sqrt() method returns the square root of a given number.

import math

print(math.sqrt(100))  #output: 10.0

print(math.sqrt(3))  #output: 1.7320508075688772

The following two functions are called representation functions. The ceil() function approximates the given number to the smallest integer, greater than or equal to the given floating point number. The floor() function returns the largest integer less than or equal to the given number.

import math

print(math.ceil(4.5867))  #output: 5            
print(math.floor(4.5687)) #output: 4

Learn more about math module on Python docs.