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Math people: Why is n/0 undefined?

A

AFB

Lifer
If you were to use the pile analogy for, (divide into n piles) whne you put something in to 0 piles there is nothing there.
 
As you get close to n/0, the result is increasingly close to an impossibly high number. n/0 will give you the opposite of 0. The opposite of nothing (and that is technically not infinity). It is beyind our minds and our math to get it, should it even be possible at all.
 
Originally posted by: amdfanboy
If you were to use the pile analogy for, (divide into n piles) whne you put something in to 0 piles there is nothing there.
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That is wrong. If n is not equal to 0, then n/0 = infinity, the pile anology would give you infinite number of piles, not 0 piles. See it this way, go to the beach with a cup. How many cups of sea water can you scoop before the sea dries up?

n/0 can be NaN (not a number), if n=0. The pile anology would give you NaP (not a pile) :laugh:
 
Originally posted by: ohtwell
Originally posted by: ndee
Originally posted by: ohtwell
Originally posted by: Supercharged
because YOU CAN'T DIVIDE BY ZERO.
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Yep!


: ) Amanda
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What do YOU know? 😛
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I know more than you, you little pissant!

😛


: ) Amanda
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And that comes from the self proclaimed"Mistress of Sunshine"? I'm shocked! 😛

Mister I-scan-500-magazines: I don't think she needs someone to cover her back 😉
 
Originally posted by: Cerb
As you get close to n/0, the result is increasingly close to an impossibly high number. n/0 will give you the opposite of 0. The opposite of nothing (and that is technically not infinity). It is beyind our minds and our math to get it, should it even be possible at all.
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say word! :beer:
 
Originally posted by: amdfanboy
If you were to use the pile analogy for, (divide into n piles) whne you put something in to 0 piles there is nothing there.
Click to expand...

Use your pile analogy but flip it around - if you divide n into piles of 0 items, how many piles do you have? You could have infinite piles and not exhaust n. That and as someone mentioned, division is the opposite of multiplication, and you can't multiply anything by 0 and get n, unless n is 0. Wait until you get to calculus.
 
Originally posted by: ohtwell
Originally posted by: amdfanboy
Originally posted by: Supercharged
because YOU CAN'T DIVIDE BY ZERO.
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No sh!t. Why?
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Because, you can't multiply anything to zero to give you another number, so how can you divide by it.


: ) Amanda
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what about 0/0? i think that should = 0, since you can multiply by 0 to get 0
 
If you divide n by 10 you get a result. Divide by 1 you get a larger result.... divide by .1 you get an even larger result... So n/0 = infinity. Since n/really really really small number approaches infinity.
 
Originally posted by: puffff
Originally posted by: ohtwell
Originally posted by: amdfanboy
Originally posted by: Supercharged
because YOU CAN'T DIVIDE BY ZERO.
Click to expand...

No sh!t. Why?
Click to expand...
Because, you can't multiply anything to zero to give you another number, so how can you divide by it.


: ) Amanda
Click to expand...

what about 0/0? i think that should = 0, since you can multiply by 0 to get 0
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.000000000000000000001 divided by itself is equal to 1.
 
Originally posted by: puffff
what about 0/0? i think that should = 0, since you can multiply by 0 to get 0
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It could be anything:

Let x = 0/0.

Multiply both sides by zero to get: 0 * x = 0

What number is x? Well, any number satisfies the above equation.

Therefore you could say that x = 0 as you do above, or you could equally correctly say x = 1 or x = 2 ...

Now you have a problem. If x is a number, it can't be 0 and 1 and 2 at the same time. Therefore 0/0 isn't a number and needs to be undefined.
 
Originally posted by: Tiamat
Originally posted by: puffff

what about 0/0? i think that should = 0, since you can multiply by 0 to get 0
Click to expand...

.000000000000000000001 divided by itself is equal to 1.
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That sounds like you want to get into limits.

For example, lim x->0 of x/x = 1 as both quantities approach the limit at equal rates.

However, lim x->0 of x^2/x = lim x->0 of x = 0,

while lim x->0 of x/x^2 = lim x->0 of 1/x diverges, approaching infinity.
 
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