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Why can you not divide by 0?

Updated: 9/20/2023
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Wiki User

12y ago

Best Answer

It is an operation that is not defined in mathematics.

Consider, for example, a property of division:

If a/b = c, then bc = a. For example because 12/3 = 4, 3(4) = 12.

When we consider dividing by zero, we reach a problem. The following multiplication statement is true:

5 * 0 = 0

So it seems that:

0/0 = 5.

Also:

6 * 0 = 0

0/0 = 6.

Thus, division by zero does not have this property of association with multiplication. Intuitively this is because division is the question of how many as are in b. How many zeros are in 5? That doesn't really make any sense.

So, in mathematics we generally do not define division by zero for all of these concerns.

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12y ago
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