What is the outcome of 0 divided by 0?

Answer 1

you cant divide by 0. Undefined

Answer 2

An income of 0 times 0

Answer 3

It is undefined.

Think about it: 10:5 means the number you have to multiply by 5 in order to get 10. Following this definition, n:0 (where n is not 0) would mean the number you have to multiply by 0 in order to get n. However, anything multiplied by 0 is 0, so n:0 does not make sense.

It's another thing that if the numerator of a quotient goes to n (where n is positive) and the denominator goes to 0 (and is positive) then the quotient goes to plus infinity (in terms of limits). Infinity is not a real number, and n/0 is left undefined by convention. Also note that if the numerator goes to n (positive) and the denominator goes to 0 but it is negative then the quotient goes to minus infinity.

Similarly, 0:0 would mean the number you have to multiply by 0 in order to get 0. However, any number multiplied by 0 is 0, so 0:0 could be any number, violating the convention that addition, subtraction, multiplication and division should give a unique result.

Of course, it could be defined as anything (as 0 for example), like the square root operation gives two answers and for the sake of a unique answer, we define sqrt(a) to be the positive square root of a.

However, if the numerator and the denominator of a quotient both go to 0 then the quotient can go to anything including 0, 1, +infinity, -infinity and any real number, or it may not even exist.

Examples:
a) 0/0=0: limit of (1/n^2)/(1/n) = limit of 1/n = 0.
b) 0/0=1: limit of (1/n)/(1/n) = limit of 1 = 1.
c) 0/0=a: limit of (a/n)/(1/n) = limit of a = a.
d) 0/0=plus inf.: limit of (1/n)/(1/n^2) = limit of n = +infinity.
e) 0/0=minus inf.: limit of (-1/n)/(1/n^2) = limit of -n = -infinity.
f) 0/0 is undefined: limit of [1/n*(-1)^n]/(1/n) = limit of (-1)^n does not exist.

For this reason, defining 0/0 to be something (e.g. 0) would violate the rule that if c goes to A and d goes to B and A/B is defined then c/d goes to A/B, so it would be a rather useless definition.

By the way, it has been asked and answered many times on Yahoo! Answers.

Answer 4

Division by zero is an operation for which you cannot find an answer, so it is disallowed. You can understand why if you think about how division and multiplication are related.
12 divided by 6 is 2 because
6 times 2 is 12

12 divided by 0 is x would mean that
0 times x = 12

But no value would work for x because 0 times any number is 0. So division by zero doesn't work.

Answer 5

There are many people who have given you this answer, but just so that you are sure, the answer is that there is no answer.

Division by zero is always undefined. You cannot divide anything among zero people.

What I mean is that 12 divided by 6 can be thought of as having to equally distribute 12 eggs between six people. This comes to two eggs each. How would you distribute anything among zero people?

Division by zero is actually a very difficult concept for many people. This particular special case, zero divided by zero, is among the most difficult concepts at this level. The very concept of zero is a difficult one to grasp at times.

Answer 6

0/0 is undifined like everything else divided by 0

Answer 7

Anything by 0 is an infinity

Answer 8

0....
but i guess if you present that problem to a scientist or a mathematician or something, they'd have a different, more complicated answer.
but for now, with us normal people, the answer is 0.

Answer 9

You can't take nothing out of nothing when dividing. You also can't take nothing out of something when dividing.

Answer 10

division by zero is imposible, because u imply spliting nothing into no groups. UNDEFINED