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pythonexceptionmathnumerical-methods

Why does math.pow result in ValueError: math domain error?

Here is the code:

exp = 1.79
def calc(t):
    return pow(t - 1, exp)

The input values of t range from 0 to 1 (e.g. 0.04). This code throws a "math domain exception," but I'm not sure why.

How can I solve this?

Solution

  • If t ranges from 0 to 1, then t - 1 ranges from -1 to 0. Negative numbers cannot be raised to a fractional power, neither by pow builtin nor math.pow.