Learn JavaScript Arithmetic Operators (Beginners Guide #6)

Arithmetic Operations

A typical arithmetic operation operates on two numbers.

The two numbers can be literals:

Example

var x = 100 + 50;

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or variables:

Example

var x = a + b;

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or expressions:

Example

var x = (100 + 50) * a;

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Subtracting

The subtraction operator (-) subtracts numbers.

Example

var x = 5;
var y = 2;
var z = x - y;

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Multiplying

The multiplication operator (*) multiplies numbers.

Example

var x = 5;
var y = 2;
var z = x * y;

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Dividing

The division operator (/) divides numbers.

Example

var x = 5;
var y = 2;
var z = x / y;

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Remainder

The modulus operator (%) returns the division remainder.

Example

var x = 5;
var y = 2;
var z = x % y;

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In arithmetic, the division of two integers produces a quotient and a remainder.
In mathematics, the result of a modulo operation is the remainder of an arithmetic division.

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Incrementing

The increment operator (++) increments numbers.

Example

var x = 5;
x++;
var z = x;

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Decrementing

The decrement operator (--) decrements numbers.

Example

var x = 5;
x--;
var z = x;

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Exponentiation

The exponentiation operator (**) raises the first operand to the power of the second operand.

Example

var x = 5;
var z = x ** 2;          // result is 25

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x ** y produces the same result as Math.pow(x,y):

Example

var x = 5;
var z = Math.pow(x,2);   // result is 25

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Operator Precedence

Operator precedence describes the order in which operations are performed in an arithmetic expression.

Example

var x = 100 + 50 * 3;

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Is the result of the example above the same as 150 * 3, or is it the same as 100 + 150?

Is the addition or the multiplication done first?

As in traditional school mathematics, the multiplication is done first.

Multiplication (*) and division (/) have higher precedence than addition (+) and subtraction (-).