The default error messages on a several math functions are mostly opaque and and unhelpful.

>>> sqrt(-5)
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
ValueError: math domain error

It would require some effort, but the code could be refactored to give a customized and helpful response, a least in common cases (falling back to the C error code message when the cause is not known):

ValueError:  math.sqrt() expects a non-negative input.  See cmath.sqrt() for variation that supports complex numbers
ValueError:  math.log() requires a non-negative input.   

Linked PRs

• gh-101410: Improve error messages in math module #101492
• gh-101410: support custom messages for domain errors in the math module #124299
• gh-101410: customize error messages for 1-arg math functions #129497
• gh-101410: revert loghelper() change in 75f59bb for integer input #132625