Practice question · True or false
Because a computer performs arithmetic faster and more reliably than a human, a numerical result it prints can be taken as an exact mathematical fact.
Hints
- Speed and reliability of arithmetic are not the same as exactness of representation.
- Recall what happens to 0.1 + 0.2.
Show the answer
False
Why
False. Floating-point values are approximate and rounding accumulates, so a printed number carries error even when every step ran correctly. Computation supports mathematical work but its output must be verified with the same scepticism as any argument.
Practise Programming for Mathematics
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