Why Does `pow(5,2)` Return 24 Instead of 25?

Pow Function Discrepancy: Why pow(5,2) Equates to 24

In programming, the pow() function is utilized to calculate the exponentiation of a number. However, in certain scenarios, it can return unexpected results. Let's examine the case of pow(5,2) returning 24.

In your provided code, the pow() function takes two integer arguments: number1 and number2. It evaluates number1 raised to the power of number2 and assigns the result to the integer variable answer. For instance, pow(5,2) should produce 25.

However, you noted that pow(5,2) instead returns 24. This occurs because the pow() function in the C math library returns the result as a double-precision floating-point number. In this case, the actual result is likely to be close to 25, but due to precision limitations in floating-point arithmetic, it may be slightly off.

To resolve this issue, you can adopt a technique called "rounding" to explicitly convert the floating-point result to an integer. One method to achieve this is by employing the ceil() function, which ensures the result is rounded up to the nearest integer.

For instance, the following code modification would correct the pow() function behavior:

int answer;
answer = ceil(pow(number1, number2));

By incorporating this modification, you can guarantee that the pow() function accurately reflects the mathematical operation of exponentiation, ensuring that pow(5,2) returns the expected value of 25.

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