Question

What is 142 divided by 0?

Answer 1

Hint: Assume the required expression as E. Now, consider 142 as the dividend and write it in the numerator of the fraction while consider 0 as the divisor and write it in the denominator of the fraction of the expression E. Use the fact that the denominator of a fraction cannot be 0 to conclude the result of the expression E.

Complete step-by-step solution:
Here we have been asked to find the value of the expression that will be obtained by the sentence 142 divided by 0. Let us assume the expression as E.
Now, here 142 is being divided by 0 so the dividend is 142 and the divisor is 0. Therefore, the expression will have 142 as the numerator and 0 as the denominator. So we get,
$\begin{align}
  & \Rightarrow E=142\div 0 \\
 & \Rightarrow E=\dfrac{142}{0} \\
\end{align}$
We know that any fraction or you may call a rational number is defined only when its denominator is unequal to 0. This is the definition of a rational number that ‘a number of the form $\dfrac{p}{q}$ where p and q are integers and q is unequal to 0’. But in the above case we have the denominator equal to 0 in the expression E, so the given expression is undefined.
Hence, 142 divided by 0 is undefined.

Note: You may think the result of the given expression will be infinite $\left( \infty \right)$ but remember that infinite is not a real number so the given form of the expression is termed as indeterminate form. These terms are used in the starting chapter of the calculus known as limits. Note that 0 divided by any non – zero number is 0 but any non – zero number divided by 0 is undefined.