JavaScript Arithmetic

JavaScript Arithmetic Operators

Arithmetic operators perform arithmetic on numbers (literals or variables).

Operator	Description
+	Addition
-	Subtraction
*	Multiplication
**	Exponentiation (ES2016)
/	Division
%	Modulus (Remainder)
++	Increment
--	Decrement

Arithmetic Operations

A typical arithmetic operation operates on two numbers.

The two numbers can be literals:

Example

let x = 100 + 50;

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or variables:

Example

let x = a + b;

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or expressions:

Example

let x = (100 + 50) * a;

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Operators and Operands

The numbers (in an arithmetic operation) are called operands.

The operation (to be performed between the two operands) is defined by an operator.

Operand	Operator	Operand
100	+	50

Adding

The addition operator (+) adds numbers:

Example

let x = 5;
let y = 2;
let z = x + y;

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Subtracting

The subtraction operator (-) subtracts numbers.

Example

let x = 5;
let y = 2;
let z = x - y;

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Multiplying

The multiplication operator (*) multiplies numbers.

Example

let x = 5;
let y = 2;
let z = x * y;

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Dividing

The division operator (/) divides numbers.

Example

let x = 5;
let y = 2;
let z = x / y;

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Remainder

The modulus operator (%) returns the division remainder.

Example

let x = 5;
let y = 2;
let 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.

Incrementing

The increment operator (++) increments numbers.

Example

let x = 5;
x++;
let z = x;

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Decrementing

The decrement operator (--) decrements numbers.

Example

let x = 5;
x--;
let z = x;

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Exponentiation

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

Example

let x = 5;
let z = x ** 2;

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

Example

let x = 5;
let z = Math.pow(x,2);

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Operator Precedence

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

Example

let x = 100 + 50 * 3;

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Is the result of 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 (-).

And (as in school mathematics) the precedence can be changed by using parentheses.

When using parentheses, the operations inside the parentheses are computed first:

Example

let x = (100 + 50) * 3;

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When many operations have the same precedence (like addition and subtraction or multiplication and division), they are computed from left to right:

Examples

let x = 100 + 50 - 3;

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let x = 100 / 50 * 3;

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Note

For a full list of operator precedence values go to:

JavaScript Operator Precedence Values.

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