Have you ever had the curiosity to ask the teacher if it would be possible to divide any number by zero? Well then, I asked my computer calculator, look what it said to me:
This is not by chance, there is a very easy explanation that everyone will understand. For that, we have to remember how we do to divide a number.
To perform any division, you look for a value for the quotient so that when you multiply this value by the number of the divisor, the result is equal to or very close to the value of the dividend. In our example we use the number 25 in the dividend and the number 0 in the divisor, after all we want to study the division by zero.
It would be possible to find some number, any number at all, that when you multiply by the divisor zero give the result of the dividend?
Let's recall what we studied in multiplication. What is the result of any number you multiply by zero? The answer is zero, right? Example: 3×0=0; 4×0=0.
Because of this, it is not possible for us to divide any number by zero, as we will never find a value for the quotient in a way that approximates the dividend. The result of the quotient multiplied by the divisor (zero) will always be zero and the division will never end, see how it would be, if we chose the number 3 to be our quotient.
From now on you can justify why there is no division by the number zero and whenever you come across a question in which the denominator (divisor) zero appears, you will know how to answer it without doing any calculations!
Share this information you have gained with your classmates and friends at school!
By Gabriel Alessandro de Oliveira
Graduated in Mathematics
Kids School Team
