If I have 2 pencils and I multiply them buy nothing, I still have 2 pencils.?

Question

If I have nothing and I multiply it by 2, I still have nothing. Needless to say, why does 0 X 2 = 0 but 2 X 0 still = 0?

Answer 1

No. If you have 1 set of 2 pencils (1x2 pencils) you are left with 2 pencils.
If you multiply them by nothing (zero), you are implying that you have used, destroyed the pencils, or have 0 sets of 2 pencils (0x2 pencils) and are left with 0 pencils.

Answer 2

Two of nothing is still nothing, no matter what order you put them in. If you actually HAVE two pencils, you need to multiply that by 1.

Answer 3

Because numbers are different than objects. You can't multiply an object unless it is able to reproduce. Pencils are unable to reproduce. Still afterall the effect of you even being able to reproduce something is still quite adding rather than multiplying.
You have a man and a woman, they reproduce two children. The total number of people in this family are now four.
2+2=4

Hope that helped.

Answer 4

If you have 2 and mulitply it by zero, it is like saying I have no twos, and if you have nothing and mulitply it by 2 its like saying I have two sets of nothing.

There is a mathematical proof that defines this language a bit more, because math is really people trying to explain what we see or observe physically into some kind of constraints or predictable equation.

I think the proof goes something like this (in laymans terms):
A whole number times a fraction is smaller, as you multiply by a smaller and smaller number (that approaches zero), your number approaches the smaller and smaller number (which is zero).

1x0.5 = 0.5
1x0.005 = 0.005
1x0.00005 = 0.00005
etc.


If you eat a

Answer 5

If "buy" nothing -- then you retain your two pencils -- unless you sold them.