Can someone explain division by zero to me?

Answer 1

"In mathematics, a division is called a division by zero if the divisor is zero. Such a division can be formally expressed as a/0 where a is the dividend. Whether this expression can be assigned a meaningful (well-defined) value depends upon the mathematical setting. In ordinary (real number) arithmetic, the expression has no meaning."

Indeed, if you took something and split into 0 pieces, you would think you had not removed anything. But the real computation of the problem would be a/0...How many times can 0 come out of a number. since 1 comes out of a number the same as the number itself, then division by zero would mean that a/0 is greater than dividing by a number greater than zero. It simply can not be done to give a good answer It is just an operation that simply cannot be solved in a definite way with a definite answer.

I recommend you look at these sites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/Division_by_zero
http://mathforum.org/dr.math/faq/faq.divideby0.html
http://www.math.utah.edu/~pa/math/0by0.html
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/DivisionbyZero.html

Answer 2

It is highly illegal to have a fraction whose denominator is zero.

Suppose that 12/0 = x and x(0) = 12. The value of x is impossible to be determined as 0 multiplied by any number is 0. Therefore, 12/0 does not exist and is an undefined operation.

Moreover, when the denominator of a fraction comes close to zero, the value of the fraction becomes so large that it reaches infinity when the denominator approaches zero.
It can be shown in the following example.
5/5 = 1
5/4 = 1 and 1/4
5/3 = 1 and 1/3
5/2 = 2 and 1/2
5/1 = 5
5/0.1 = 50
5/0.01 = 500
5/0.001 = 5000
5/0.0001 = 50000
5/0 = infinity.....

The fraction 0/0 is even more peculiar. It can be shown that 0/0 has the same value as any other number. For example, 0/0 can be equals to 1 since 0(1) = 0, 0/0 can also be equals to 3 since 0(3) = 0 and etc. As a result, such indecisive behaviour is strictly not allowed and prohibited.

Answer 3

Believe it or not, there is a formal definition of what we call "division." We define it as follows.
If a, b, and c are real numbers, then
a/b = c (a divided by b equals c) if and only if a = bc.
Now, 12/6 = 2 because 12 = 6*2.
Take any number b.
Suppose that b/0 actually exists, according to our definition.
What would it equal? If b/0 = c and b is nonzero, then the definition tells us that b = 0*c = 0, which contradicts our assumption that b was nonzero.
If b/0 = c and b is zero, then b = 0 = 0*c is true. Not only that, but it is true for any real number c. In this case, b/0 = c is not a uniquely defined real number.
Hence, in any case, we have shown that b/0 does not exist.

Answer 4

pleaese ignore the answers that say any number divided by zero is infinity or negative infinity or whatever. They are WRONG!!!


We cannot take 4 apples and divide them into "zero" groups.

4/0 means we have 4 'parts'.
The denominator means that the 'whole' is divided into zero groups. Zero groups? They are just not there, no groups! So how can we have four parts of them?

Also
x*0=0 and is true for any value of x. So we cannot invert the multiplication with division. Because how can you have a division problem where division & multiplication yield the same answer?

Division by zero is allowed in a certain instance (Reimann Sphere), but it does not disprove that any number ÷ 0 is undefined.

Answer 5

Division by zero is an undefined operation.

If you are solving an equation, and one of your roots results in a division by zero, it is not an acceptable answer.

In some higher levels of math and engineering, there are other meanings to a division by zero, but essentially it is an undefined operation, a spot at which equations behave abnormally, and is generally not allowed.

Answer 6

Before we go to division by zero, let us first understand what division really means. Let's show a REAL WORLD example.

Suppose we want to buy a burger worth $1.50 and there are three of us. If each of the three of us want to equally share money to buy the burger, we would be dividing $1.50 by three which gives $0.50 as an answer.

Now if there are only two of us who would share then we divide $1.50 by two to get $0.75 to buy the burger.

How about if there is no (zero) person to buy the burger, how much would he "share" to buy such a burger? If there is no person to "share" money in order to buy a burger then nothing happens - the burger is not bought - it's simply impossible to buy a burger with no (zero) buyer!

Hope this explains!

Answer 7

If you divide a number by zero, you get plus-or-minus infinity. Dividing x/y means we're asking "how many times does y fit into x?" If y is zero and x is some other number (for example, x = 4), we are asking how many times 0 fits into 4. The answer is, of course, infinity.

Answer 8

If you divide by nothing you get an infinite number because zero can go into anything an infinite number of times. What that translates to on a calculater is Error ... error...does not compute.

Answer 9

First define branch. branch is a technique which supplies you an answer which whilst enhanced with the divisor supplies the divident. so which you will incredibly see that branch of 0 by utilising a non 0 selection is 0, using fact multiplication of any selection (divisor) by utilising 0 (results of branch) will yield 0 (divident). in case you cant digest how multiplying a selection by utilising 0 yields a nil, think of you're multiplying a selection by utilising fractions like one million/2, one million/4, one million/one hundred, one million/1000 and so on. using fact the fraction is going on reducing, your result is going on reducing and as your fraction has a tendency to 0 you ultimately get a nil. next evaluate the case of branch. think of you're dividing a selection by utilising fractions like one million/10, one million/one hundred, one million/1000 and so on. you detect that your result is going somewhat great as fraction is going on reducing, and you're no longer tending to any finite value as you close to 0, and what you get is infinity, which isn't a defined value. In different words multiplying infinity including your divisor, 0, doesnt supply your divident. subsequently branch by utilising 0 isn't defined. even nonetheless branch by utilising 0 isn't defined, branch by utilising parts that have a tendency to 0 are particularly smart and broadly employed in arithmetic. as an occasion, evaluate this: the quantity 2/(one million/x) as x has a tendency to 0 yields a nil. it somewhat is using the fact one million/x has a tendency to infinity as x has a tendency to 0 as we've considered above, and subsequently 2/infinity is in basic terms too small and has a tendency to 0, and is subsequently 0.

Answer 10

Anything divided by zero is zero. Think about it like this. If you have an apple and you divided it by two, two people would share the apple. But if you had to divide it by zero, or zilch, or Nada, you get to eat the whole thing. And since zero represents nothing, it can't be divided anyway. You divide anything by nothing you get nothing.