Q:

Convert object into float (6½ to 6.5)

With this attempt df['Total'] = df['Total'].astype('float') returns could not convert string to float: '5½'. I tried .str.split() as well but that did not work either.
import pandas as pd

d = {'Total': ['6', '5', '5', '5½', '5½', '6½', '6½']}
df = pd.DataFrame(data=d)

A:

Use str.replace to replace '½' with '.5' & then use astype(float) to convert the values to float. Code below.
df['Total'] = df['Total'].str.replace('½','.5').astype(float)

Input
    Total
0   6
1   5
2   5
3   5½
4   5½
5   6½
6   6½

Output
    Total
0   6.0
1   5.0
2   5.0
3   5.5
4   5.5
5   6.5
6   6.5

