Question

Which of the following expressions involves coercion when evaluated in Python?

(a) 4.7 – 1.5

(b) 7.9 * 6.3

(c) 1.7 % 2

(d) 3.4 + 4.6

I have been asked this question at a job interview.

This intriguing question comes from Precedence and Associativity in portion Precedence and Associativity, Bitwise & Boolean of Python

Answer 1

The correct choice is (c) 1.7 % 2

To explain I would say: Coercion is the implicit (automatic) conversion of operands to a common type. Coercion is automatically performed on mixed-type expressions. The expression 1.7 % 2 is evaluated as 1.7 % 2.0 (that is, automatic conversion of int to float).