why cant you divide by zero

Question

Why cant zero be a divisor

 

Answer 1

I'm glad that you used the word "divisor."  That means that you are thinking about a division problem -- with a divisor, a dividend, a quotient, and (maybe) a remainder.

 

So, the divisor multiplied by the quotient (and maybe adding the remainder) produces the dividend.  Suppose the divisor is 0.  That means that the quotient (what ever it is) multiplied by 0 (the divisor) produces a non-zero dividend.  Of course, 0 times anything is 0, so this cannot be.  It is consistent, then, that dividing by 0 is undefined.

 

If    5/0 = N,   then 0·N = 5.   Not !!