Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science

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What is the purpose of the Ceiling() function?

To round down a number
To round to the nearest integer
To round up a number
To calculate the average of numbers

The correct answer is: To round up a number

The Ceiling() function serves the purpose of rounding a number up to the nearest integer. This means that regardless of the decimal value of the original number, the result will always be the smallest integer that is greater than or equal to that number. For example, if the input is 3.2, the Ceiling() function will return 4. If the input is already an integer, such as 5, the function will simply return that same integer. This functionality is particularly useful in situations where you need a whole number for counting or indexing purposes, where fractional values are not applicable. In contrast, rounding down, rounding to the nearest integer, or calculating an average does not fulfill this specific need of ensuring the result is always rounded up.