A basic but weird question? (1 Viewer)

[SBHS4EVER]

This has nothing to do with 4U but just generally maths and i feel u guys can explain this.

Y is it that any number divided by 0 is infinity?

If i have 10 apples and i divide them amongst no-one, don't i still have 10 apples?
Maybe im missing something here-

 

[ND]

http://www.boredofstudies.org/community/showthread.php?threadid=5283&highlight=infinity+undefined

Same sort of thing.

 

[BlackJack]

Just as a ide note, by saying that you still have ten apples, you've just divided it among one person. Namely, you.

 

[turtle_2468]

It's not infinity.
The answer to division by zero is actually not defined.
What people mean, though, when they say that it is infinity, is that for a given number c (say c=5 for example), then c/x approaches infinity as x goes to 0 (ie gets smaller and smaller). In the apples example, it'd be like saying this: you have 10 apples, and you divide it amongst 0 children. How many apples does each child get?

 

[underthesun]

But, you know, this might be why people say it is undefined.

For example, for division : you have 10 apples.

You want to give 2 to each person.

You give 2 to the first one, then 2 to the second one etc. etc.

You can only give it to 5 people.

Hence 10/2 = 5.

But for 10/0,

You have 10 apples.

You go to the first person, but you are stingy, so you give none, and go to the next person, and give none, and goes on and on..

Then it keeps going on, until infinite..

hence you "gave 0 apple to infinite person"

Does that make sense or am I lost?

 

[McLake]

Your logic makes sense to me, but them again, I'm rather illogical myself ...

 

[Affinity]

expanding on turtle's point,
If you define (a/b) = c if and only if b*c = a
you can see that x/0 is not defined (no number would satisfy definition), for non zero x and indeterminated for x=0 (all numbers would satisfy definition).

 

[SBHS4EVER]

Weird concept, hey? And almost weirder to explain

 

[underthesun]

Originally posted by McLake
Your logic makes sense to me, but them again, I'm rather illogical myself ...

I cheer for the similarities between us, that our logic matches, but most importantly that you understand what I was saying

 

[turtle_2468]

Affinity: If you define (a/b) = c if and only if b*c = a

Good defn affinity... just watch out about the 0/0 case (maybe just write "only if") because then you'd be saying 0/0 = any number you want..

 

[Affinity]

thanks turtle, was a little confused about 0/0.

 

[SoFTuaRiaL]

0/0 does not exist ....
as for infinity, its a concept .... ok, its like this, say u have 5 apples . if u wanna distribute the 5 apples equally among 5 ppl .... each person gets only 1 apple ....
if divided among 10 ppl, each person gets .5 apples ....
so, as the no.of people becomes more, the amt of apple each receives becomes less .... tends towards 0 ... (inverse proportionality)
similarly, dividing among 2 ppl would give each 2.5 apples.
so, again thru inverse proportionality, as the no.of ppl becomes less, the amt of apple received by each tends towards an infinitely huge number. hence x/0 -> infinity and not, x/0 = infinity