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Why cant we have a reciprocal of 0?

Updated: 4/28/2022
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Wiki User

7y ago

Best Answer

Here's a simplistic explanation.

Let's suppose there was a reciprocal of zero; call it z.

z = 1/0

rearranging,

1 = 0 * z

However, since 0 times any number is 0, z cannot exist.

(There are types of mathematics that conceptually amount to, among other things, defining some number z. However, even in these, 0 * z is left intentionally undefined, because defining it leads to algebraic weirdness.)

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Wiki User

7y ago
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Q: Why cant we have a reciprocal of 0?
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