Question

What type of exception does a program raise when it uses the float function to convert a non-numeric string to a number?

Short answer

Answer: ValueError

Step-by-step solution

Understanding the float function in Python

The float function in Python is a built-in function that is used to convert a specified value into a floating-point number. It can handle integers and strings, but the string must represent a valid floating-point number; otherwise, an exception will be raised.

Identifying the exception raised when converting non-numeric strings

When the float function encounters a non-numeric string, it will raise a "ValueError" exception. This is because the input value in the form of a non-numeric string cannot be converted to a floating-point number, as it doesn't represent a valid number.

Understanding the "ValueError" exception

A ValueError exception is raised when a function receives an argument of the correct type but an invalid value. In this case, using the float function on a non-numeric string satisfies the correct type (string), but the value is invalid because it cannot be converted to a floating-point number.

Example of a ValueError exception with float function

Let's look at an example to demonstrate the ValueError exception when using the float function on a non-numeric string: ```python non_numeric_string = "abc" try: float_value = float(non_numeric_string) except ValueError as ve: print("An exception occurred:", ve) ``` This code will output the following exception message: ``` An exception occurred: could not convert string to float: 'abc' ``` This shows that using the float function on a non-numeric string raises a ValueError exception.