How to Use the max() Function in Python
This tutorial explains how to use the Python max() function to find the maximum value. This tutorial will also show you an example of how to find the max value in a list without using the built-in max() function.
Learn more: Python min() function
Python max() Function Syntax
The syntax of the max() function is as follows:
max(list)
max(arg1, arg2, *args)
Examples:
max([1, 2, 4, 2])
max(1, 2, 4, 3)
Remark
- List: A list containing the values for which you want to find the maximum value
Examples
Using max() to find the maximum value among a group of numbers
The following code shows an example of finding the largest of three numbers:
max_value = max(20, 70, 25) print("The largest value: ", max_value)
Output:
The largest value: 70
The following code shows an example of finding the largest of four numbers:
max_value = max(20, 70, 25, 90) print("The largest value: ", max_value)
Output:
The largest value: 90
The following code shows an example of finding the largest of five numbers:
max_value = max(20, 70, 125, 90, 100) print("The largest value: ", max_value)
Output:
The largest value: 125
Find the largest value in a list
The following program will find the largets value in a list of numbers:
numbers_list = [10, 20, 100, 90, 20, 40, 40, 30, 70] max_value = max(numbers_list) print("The maximum value: ", max_value)
Output:
The maximum value: 100
Find the largest number in a list without using max():
The following program uses a FOR loop and an IF statement to find the largest number in a list:
numbers_list = [180.30, 100.10, 90.70, 20.20, 140.40, 200.50, 140.80, 30.93, 70.20] max = 0 for number in numbers_list: if number > max: max = number print("The largest number: ", max)
Output:
The largest number: 200.5
The following program uses a FOR loop and an IF statement to find the second largest number in a list:
numbers_list = [180.30, 100.10, 90.70, 20.20, 140.40, 200.50, 140.80, 30.93, 70.20] length = len(numbers_list) for i in range(length): for j in range(i + 1, length): if numbers_list[i] > numbers_list[j]: num1 = numbers_list[i] num2 = numbers_list[j] numbers_list[i] = num2 numbers_list[j] = num1 second_largest = numbers_list[length-2] print("The second largest number: ", second_largest)
Output:
The second largest number: 180.3
The following program uses a FOR loop and an IF statement to find the third-largest number in a list:
numbers = [200.50, 180.30, 100.10, 90.70, 20.20, 140.40, 140.80, 30.93, 70.20] length = len(numbers) for i in range(length): for j in range(i + 1, length): if numbers[i] > numbers[j]: num1 = numbers[i] num2 = numbers[j] numbers[i] = num2 numbers[j] = num1 third_largest = numbers[length-3] print("The third largest number: ", third_largest)
Output:
The third largest number: 140.8
For more information on FOR loops and IF statements, check out the links below.
Summary
This tutorial explained how to get the largest value in a list of numbers with/without using the built-in function max().