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Undefined: You cannot divide by zero

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Obie Bradtke

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4y ago

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More answers

You cannot divide by 0 so therefore you would get an error if typed on to calculator for example.

2nd Answer:

Well, you can divide by zero, but that is the same as not dividing, at all. And, yes, dividing by zero with computer/calculator gear will usually produce an error.

For instance, 11 divided by zero equals 11.

Negative 17 divided by zero equals negative 17.

3rd Answer:

I'm sorry, the above is absolutely wrong, negative 17 divided by zero is not negative 17, it is undefined. A simple proof of this is as follows:

-17/x = -17

multiplying both sides by x we get

-17 = -17x

then dividing both sides by -17, we get

1 = x

Obviously 1 is not equal to 0, so -17/0 cannot be equal to -17.

We can use something similar to answer the original question of what -2 divided by 0 is:

-2/0 = x

if we multiply both sides by 0, we get

-2 = 0x

therefore x must be something which, when multiplied by 0, results in -2.

Such a number does not exist, and therefore numbers with a denominator of zero are undefined.

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Wiki User

10y ago
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Q: What is negative 2 divided by 0?
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