How To Find The Largest And Smallest Numbers In Python? - Python Guides (2024)

Recently, while working with lists or arrays of numbers in Python, I had one requirement: find the minimum and maximum values. Python provides a few easy ways to get this. In this tutorial, I will explain different methods to find the largest and smallest numbers in Python with examples.

To find the largest and smallest number in a list in Python, you can use the built-in functions max() and min(). For example, if you have a list numbers = [3, 1, 4, 1, 5, 9, 2], you can find the largest number by calling max(numbers) and the smallest number by calling min(numbers). These functions efficiently return the maximum and minimum values from the list, respectively.

# Example list of numbersnumbers = [3, 1, 4, 1, 5, 9, 2]# Finding the largest numberlargest_number = max(numbers)# Finding the smallest numbersmallest_number = min(numbers)# Printing the resultsprint("The largest number is:", largest_number)print("The smallest number is:", smallest_number)

Find the Largest and Smallest Numbers in Python

Now, let me show you how to find the largest and smallest numbers in Python using different methods:

1. Using the min() and max() Functions

Python has built-in min() and max() functions that allow you to easily find the smallest and largest values in a list or array. Here’s how to use them:

numbers = [28, 56, 42, 10, 95, 73]smallest = min(numbers)largest = max(numbers)print(f"The smallest number is: {smallest}") print(f"The largest number is: {largest}")

Output:

The smallest number is: 10The largest number is: 95

The min() and max() functions are the simplest way to find the extremes in a list. They work by iterating through the list and keeping track of the current minimum and maximum values encountered.

You can see the output in the screenshot below after I executed the above Python code using VS code.

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2. Using a For Loop

Another way to find the largest and smallest numbers in Python in a list is by using a for loop to iterate through each element. Here’s how it works:

numbers = [28, 56, 42, 10, 95, 73]smallest = largest = numbers[0]for num in numbers: if num < smallest: smallest = num if num > largest: largest = numprint(f"The smallest number is: {smallest}")print(f"The largest number is: {largest}")

Output:

The smallest number is: 10The largest number is: 95

In this approach, we initialize both smallest and largest to the first element of the list (numbers[0]). Then, we use a for loop to iterate through each number in the list. For each number, we check if it is smaller than the current smallest or larger than the current largest. If so, we update the corresponding variable.

After the loop finishes, smallest will hold the minimum value, and largest will hold the maximum value from the list.

You can see the output in the screenshot below:

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3. Using a While Loop

You can also use a while loop to find the largest and smallest numbers in a list by repeatedly prompting the user for input until a specific condition is met. Here’s an example:

numbers = []while True: user_input = input("Enter a number (or 'done' to finish): ") if user_input == 'done': break numbers.append(int(user_input))if len(numbers) > 0: smallest = largest = numbers[0] i = 1 while i < len(numbers): if numbers[i] < smallest: smallest = numbers[i] if numbers[i] > largest: largest = numbers[i] i += 1 print(f"The smallest number is: {smallest}") print(f"The largest number is: {largest}")else: print("No numbers were entered.")

Sample Output:

Enter a number (or 'done' to finish): 42Enter a number (or 'done' to finish): 17Enter a number (or 'done' to finish): 99Enter a number (or 'done' to finish): 28Enter a number (or 'done' to finish): doneThe smallest number is: 17The largest number is: 99

In this approach, we start with an empty list called numbers. We use a while loop with a True condition to repeatedly prompt the user for input. If the user enters ‘done’, we break out of the loop. Otherwise, we append the user’s input (converted to an integer) to the numbers list.

After collecting the user’s input, we check if the numbers list has any elements. If it does, we initialize smallest and largest to the first element of the list (numbers[0]). We then use another while loop to iterate through the remaining elements of the list, starting from index 1. For each element, we compare it with the current smallest and largest values and update them accordingly.

Here is the output in the screenshot below:

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Find the Second Smallest and Second Largest

Sometimes, you may want to find the second smallest or second largest values in a list. To do this, you can:

1. Usemin()andmax()to find the smallest and largest elements
2. Remove those elements from the list usinglist.remove()
3. Callmin()andmax()again on the modified list

Here’s an example:

numbers = [28, 56, 42, 10, 95, 73]smallest = min(numbers)largest = max(numbers)numbers.remove(smallest) numbers.remove(largest)second_smallest = min(numbers)second_largest = max(numbers)print(f"The second smallest number is: {second_smallest}")print(f"The second largest number is: {second_largest}") 

Output:

The second smallest number is: 28The second largest number is: 73

Conclusion

Python’s min() and max() functions provide a quick and easy way to find the smallest and largest values in a list or array. You can also use these functions along with list.remove() to find the second smallest and second largest values if needed. In this tutorial, I have explained how to find the largest and smallest numbers in Python with examples.

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