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for the code below, why is the first result a small decimal number but the second results in 0? My main question is why that extra decimal place makes the second result a 0. Does python have a limit in its decimal places when calculating floats?

x =5.000000000000001
y =5
print(x-y)
x =5.0000000000000001
y =5
print(x-y)
snakecharmerb
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55gus
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1 Answers1

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Float is not always precise because of how the data is stored. They need to be rounded to work properly in practice. 

x =5.000000000000001
y =5
print(round(x-y))
x =5.0000000000000001
y =5
print(x-y)
Matthew Gaiser
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