Final answer:
To add integers inputted by the user until -1 is entered and then display the sum (excluding the -1), initialize 'sum' to 0, read user input into 'num', use a while loop that adds 'num' to 'sum' if 'num' is not -1, and prints the sum after the loop exits.
Step-by-step explanation:
Python Code Completion for Summation Task
To complete the given code so that it adds all integers inputted by the user until the number -1 is inputted (without adding the -1), the following Python code structure can be used:
sum = 0
num = int(input("Enter a positive integer (-1 to quit): "))
while num != -1:
sum += num
num = int(input("Enter a positive integer (-1 to quit): "))
print("The sum is:", sum)
In this code:
- The variable sum is initialized to 0 to start the summation.
- The variable num is used to store the user input.
- The while loop continues as long as num is not equal to -1.
- Inside the loop, num is added to sum using the += operator, and then a new num is read from the user.
- Once -1 is inputted, the loop exits, and the sum (which does not include the -1) is printed.
For the provided sequence of inputs (4, 3, 1, -1), this code will output:
The sum is: 8
It's important to understand that when adding numbers:
- If both are positive or both are negative, they reinforce each other, and the sum takes their common sign.
- If they have opposite signs, the smaller magnitude subtracts from the larger, resulting in the sign of the larger magnitude number.