Poll 2: Results
February 28, 2009To all those who voted, I thank you for voting.
What is 0 divided by o?
Results:
- Undefined – 38%
- Any real number – 31%
- Zero – 18%
- Infinity – 9%
- One – 4%
So most of you thought it was undefined.
I was quite confused though. Dean and I bought thought it was any real number. Because you can divide any real number with 0, and you’ll get 0. So 0 divided by 0 is any real number. No?
No no no. It’s undefined. Confirmed.
Can’t divide any real number with 0. It’s solution-less.
It’s indeterminate. Any real number divided by zero is undefined
The reason is related to the associated multiplication question. If you divide 6 by 3 the answer is 2 because 2 times 3 IS 6. If you divide 6 by zero, then you are asking the question, “What number times zero gives 6?” The answer to that one, of course, is no number, for we know that zero times any real number is zero not 6. So we say that division by zero is undefined, for it is not consistent with division by other numbers. 0 divided by 0 is however, indeterminate. I thought you guys know the answer.