Welcome to the Treehouse Community

The Treehouse Community is a meeting place for developers, designers, and programmers of all backgrounds and skill levels to get support. Collaborate here on code errors or bugs that you need feedback on, or asking for an extra set of eyes on your latest project. Join thousands of Treehouse students and alumni in the community today. (Note: Only Treehouse students can comment or ask questions, but non-students are welcome to browse our conversations.)

Looking to learn something new?

Treehouse offers a seven day free trial for new students. Get access to thousands of hours of content and a supportive community. Start your free trial today.

Python

Adriana Alvear
Adriana Alvear
1,538 Points
Posted by Adriana Alvear
Adriana Alvear
1,538 Points

question about math.ceil

What is the purpose of using math.ceil if you can have the same result with total/number_of_people?

1 Answer

William Li
William Li
7,938 Points
William Li
William Li
7,938 Points

math.ceil(x) returns the smallest integer greater or equal to x, it is used to round numbers up to the nearest integer value.

It probably gives the same result because (total/number_of_people) equals to a whole number.

if (total/number_of_people) is a decimal value then math.ceil will round it up to the nearest integer