Question

Write assignment statements that perform the following operations with the variables a, b, and c. A) Adds 2 to a and stores the result in b. B) Multiplies b times 4 and stores the result in a. C) Divides a by 3.14 and stores the result in b. D) Subtracts 8 from b and stores the result in a. E) Stores the value 27 in a. F) Stores the character ‘K’ in c. G) Stores the ASCII code for ‘B’ in c.

Short answer

Question: Write the assignment statement for the following operation: Subtracting 8 from b and storing the result in a. Answer: a = b - 8

Step-by-step solution

A) Adding 2 to a and storing the result in b

To add 2 to a and store the result in b, you'd simply write: b = a + 2

B) Multiplying b by 4 and storing the result in a

To multiply b by 4 and store the result in a, you'd write: a = 4 * b

C) Dividing a by 3.14 and storing the result in b

To divide a by 3.14 and store the result in b, you'd write: b = a / 3.14

D) Subtracting 8 from b and storing the result in a

To subtract 8 from b and store the result in a, you'd write: a = b - 8

E) Storing the value 27 in a

To store the value 27 in a, you'd simply write: a = 27

F) Storing the character 'K' in c

To store the character 'K' in c, you'd write: c = 'K'

G) Storing the ASCII code for 'B' in c

To store the ASCII code for 'B' in c, you'd write: c = ord('B')

Key concepts

C++ Arithmetic Operators

Arithmetic operators in C++ are the symbols used to perform mathematical computations on variables and constants. These operators are fundamental to variable manipulation, allowing you to add, subtract, multiply, divide, and so on. Some of the primary arithmetic operators include:

• Addition (+): e.g., b = a + 2; adds the value 2 to 'a' and stores the sum in 'b'.
• Multiplication (*): e.g., a = 4 * b; multiplies 'b' by 4 and stores the product in 'a'.
• Division (/): e.g., b = a / 3.14; divides 'a' by 3.14 and stores the quotient in 'b'.
• Subtraction (-): e.g., a = b - 8; subtracts 8 from 'b' and stores the difference in 'a'.
• Assignment (=): Assigns the value on the right to the variable on the left, such as a = 27; which stores the value 27 in 'a'.

Effective use of these operators in assignment statements enables concise and readable code. Adhering to the correct operator precedence is crucial to ensure the desired calculation is performed.

Variable Manipulation in C++

In C++, variables are placeholders for storing data values. Manipulating variables effectively is an essential skill in programming that allows for dynamic and interactive coding. To manipulate variables, you typically use assignment statements, coupled with arithmetic operators, to change a variable's value. For instance:

• To change the value of 'b' based on 'a', you write b = a + 2;.
• You can update the original value of 'a' with a multiplication result by a = 4 * b;.
• To reset the value of a variable like 'a' to a static value, simply assign a new value directly: a = 27;.

These procedures on variables allow for calculation, data manipulation, and control flow decisions in C++ programs. When dealing with variables, ensure the data types match to avoid errors. For instance, having a consistent type when assigning numerical values to character type variables can prevent unexpected results or errors.

ASCII Code Representation in C++

The ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) code is a character encoding standard for text. Each character (like letters, numbers, and symbols) is represented by a numerical value. In C++, you can store characters in variables, and you can also access and manipulate their ASCII values. For instance, the character 'K' has an ASCII value of 75, and to store it in a char variable named 'c', you would write:
c = 'K';
Similarly, if you wish to directly store the ASCII value of a character like 'B', which is 66, you could either assign it directly with its integer representation or use the ord() function in C++ to convert it: c = ord('B');. However, in standard C++ the ord() function does not exist, instead you should cast the character to its integer equivalent to get the ASCII code: c = (int)'B';. Understanding ASCII representation in C++ is essential for tasks involving character processing, such as sorting, searching, and encoding algorithms.