Count positive and negative numbers in 5 inputs

Last update on September 18 2025 12:32:07 (UTC/GMT +8 hours)

Count positive and negative numbers in 5 inputs

Write a C program that reads 5 numbers and counts the number of positive numbers and negative numbers.

Pictorial Presetation:

C Code:

#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
    float numbers[5]; // Declare an array to store 5 numbers
    int j, pctr=0, nctr=0; // Declare variables for loop counter, positive count, and negative count

    // Prompt user for five numbers and store them in the array
    printf("\nInput the first number: "); 
    scanf("%f", &numbers[0]);
    printf("\nInput the second number: "); 
    scanf("%f", &numbers[1]);
    printf("\nInput the third number: "); 
    scanf("%f", &numbers[2]);
    printf("\nInput the fourth number: "); 
    scanf("%f", &numbers[3]);
    printf("\nInput the fifth number: "); 
    scanf("%f", &numbers[4]);

    for(j = 0; j < 5; j++) {
        if(numbers[j] > 0) // Check if the number is positive
        {
            pctr++; // Increment positive count
        }
        else if(numbers[j] < 0) // Check if the number is negative
        {
            nctr++; // Increment negative count
        }
    }

    // Print the counts of positive and negative numbers
    printf("\nNumber of positive numbers: %d", pctr);
    printf("\nNumber of negative numbers: %d", nctr);
    printf("\n");

    return 0;
}

Sample Output:

Input the first number: 5                                              
                                                                       
Input the second number: -4                                            
                                                                       
Input the third number: 10                                             
                                                                       
Input the fourth number: 15                                            
                                                                       
Input the fifth number: -1                                             
                                                                       
Number of positive numbers: 3                                          
Number of negative numbers: 2 

Flowchart:

For more Practice: Solve these Related Problems:

• Write a C program to count the number of even and odd numbers among five inputs.
• Write a C program to count the positive, negative, and zero values from a set of five integers.
• Write a C program to count how many numbers in a list fall within a specified range.
• Write a C program to count the number of prime numbers among five integers entered by the user.

Go to:

• C Basic Exercises Home ↩
• C Programming Exercises Home ↩

PREV : Print all even numbers between 1 and 50.
NEXT : Count positives and calculate their average from 5 inputs.

C Programming Code Editor:

Have another way to solve this solution? Contribute your code (and comments) through Disqus.