Positional arguments in Python - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Using Positional Arguments in Python Functions

📖 Scenario: You are creating a simple calculator program that adds two numbers. You will use a function that takes two numbers as inputs and returns their sum.

🎯 Goal: Build a Python function that uses positional arguments to add two numbers and print the result.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a function named add_numbers that takes exactly two positional arguments named num1 and num2.

Call the function add_numbers with two numbers as positional arguments.

Print the result returned by the function.

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Functions with positional arguments are used everywhere in programming to perform tasks with inputs, like calculators, data processing, and more.

💼 Career

Understanding how to define and call functions with positional arguments is a fundamental skill for any programming job.

1

Create the function with two positional arguments

Write a function named add_numbers that takes two positional arguments called num1 and num2. Inside the function, return the sum of num1 and num2.

Python

# Your code here

Need a hint?

Define the function with two names inside the parentheses. Use return to send back the sum.

2

Call the function with two numbers

Call the function add_numbers with the positional arguments 5 and 7, and store the result in a variable named result.

Python

def add_numbers(num1, num2):
    return num1 + num2

# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use the function name followed by parentheses with two numbers inside, separated by a comma.

3

Print the result

Write a print statement to display the value stored in the variable result.

Python

def add_numbers(num1, num2):
    return num1 + num2

result = add_numbers(5, 7)

# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use print(result) to show the sum on the screen.

4

Test with different numbers

Call the function add_numbers again with the positional arguments 10 and 20, store the result in result, and print it.

Python

def add_numbers(num1, num2):
    return num1 + num2

result = add_numbers(5, 7)
print(result)

# Your code here

Need a hint?

Call the function with new numbers and print the result again to see the new sum.