How to Apply a Function to Selected Columns in Pandas

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You can use the following syntax to apply a function to one or more columns of a pandas DataFame:

#divide values in column1 by 2
df['column1'] = df['column1'] / 2

#divide values in column1 and column2 by 2
df[['column1', 'column2']] = df[['column1', 'column2']] / 2

#divide values in every column of DataFrame by 2
df = df / 2

The following examples show how to use this syntax in practice.

Example 1: Apply Function to One Column

The following code shows how to apply a function to just one column of a DataFrame:

import pandas as pd

#create DataFrame
df = pd.DataFrame({'points': [10, 12, 12, 14, 13, 18],
                   'rebounds': [7, 7, 8, 13, 7, 4],
                   'assists': [11, 8, 10, 6, 6, 5]})

#view DataFrame
df

	points	rebounds assists
0	10	7	 11
1	12	7	 8
2	12	8	 10
3	14	13	 6
4	13	7	 6
5	18	4	 5

#divide values in points column by 2
df['points'] = df['points'] / 2

#view updated DataFrame
df

        points	rebounds assists
0	5.0	7	 11
1	6.0	7	 8
2	6.0	8	 10
3	7.0	13	 6
4	6.5	7	 6
5	9.0	4	 5

Example 2: Apply Function to Specific Columns

The following code shows how to apply a function to specific columns of a DataFrame:

import pandas as pd

#create DataFrame
df = pd.DataFrame({'points': [10, 12, 12, 14, 13, 18],
                   'rebounds': [7, 7, 8, 13, 7, 4],
                   'assists': [11, 8, 10, 6, 6, 5]})

#view DataFrame
df

	points	rebounds assists
0	10	7	 11
1	12	7	 8
2	12	8	 10
3	14	13	 6
4	13	7	 6
5	18	4	 5

#divide values in points and rebounds column by 2
df[['points', 'rebounds']] = df[['points', 'rebounds']] / 2

#view updated DataFrame
df

	points	rebounds assists
0	5.0	3.5	 11
1	6.0	3.5	 8
2	6.0	4.0	 10
3	7.0	6.5	 6
4	6.5	3.5	 6
5	9.0	2.0	 5

Example 3: Apply Function to All Columns

The following code shows how to apply a function to every column of a DataFrame:

import pandas as pd

#create DataFrame
df = pd.DataFrame({'points': [10, 12, 12, 14, 13, 18],
                   'rebounds': [7, 7, 8, 13, 7, 4],
                   'assists': [11, 8, 10, 6, 6, 5]})

#view DataFrame
df

	points	rebounds assists
0	10	7	 11
1	12	7	 8
2	12	8	 10
3	14	13	 6
4	13	7	 6
5	18	4	 5

#divide values in every column by 2
df = df / 2

#view updated DataFrame
df

        points	rebounds assists
0	5.0	3.5	 5.5
1	6.0	3.5	 4.0
2	6.0	4.0	 5.0
3	7.0	6.5	 3.0
4	6.5	3.5	 3.0
5	9.0	2.0	 2.5

Additional Resources

How to Calculate the Mean of Columns in Pandas
How to Calculate the Sum of Columns in Pandas
How to Find the Max Value of Columns in Pandas