Dividing by Zero

If I have a pie, and I do not cut it, so by no means am I dividing it... isn't it still one pie?

So shouldn't dividing the pie by nothing result in the pie? Shouldn't one divided by zero equal one?

I mathematics, dividing by zero is disallowed because it supposedly would cause a logical conflict. Is this really true?

Maybe this will help

Dividing something by one means you take something and split it into one whole group. So if you have a pie and divide that pie by one, you are really just taking that pie and keeping it in its whole form of only one piece.

When you divide by 0, you are basically saying "I'm going to take this object and break it off into zero (aka nonexistent) groups." But you can't take a pie and split it off into nothing, that wouldn't make any sense.
This is why dividing anything by 0 is considered to be "undefined." You can't take a number, which represents a quantity, and just obliterate it.
42% Voted for by cosmosis, Weydon, TeChNoWC.
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- Molzahn
  June 29
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  riddle me this
  under that logic, how does X^0 equal one?
  
  7^3 is like saying 7*7*7
  7^0 is like saying _____
  
  there is no referenced number, and automatically it equals one?
  
  The reason dividing by zero is undefined (like in an asymptote) is because the answer can be any and every number all at once. What about dividing an absence of quantity (zero) and 'obliterating' it? If I don't write down a number, can I assume it's one?
- cosmosis
  June 30
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  Dividing by 0 and raising something to the 0 power are two COMPLETELY different concepts so you can't take the explanation for one, try to superimpose it onto another mathematical phenomena and when it doesn't work, claim it to be an insufficient explanation.
  My explanation for why dividing by 0 doesn't work still stands. It's logically impossible, which is why it's undefined.
  As for 7^0, this page might help: http://mathforum.org/dr.math/faq/faq.number.to.0power.html
- Molzahn
  July 2
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  true. But for 0/0 or 0^0, wouldn't we avoid seemingly pointless mathematical restrictions? like when considering constants in an equation like
  
  f(x) = 7(x-1)/(x-1)
  
  if you remove the constant, you have to put a restriction on when the variable equals zero.
  
  f(x) = 7
  (X =/= 1)
  
  Now, my beef with this mathematical philosophy is that we are unaware of exactly how many constant variables contribute to the final equation, so we can't know exactly how many restrictions exist within equations. like any equation in physics e.g. e=mc^2 could possess countless restrictions that we could be unaware of. Are these realistic? no, just mathematical.
  
  I think dividing out constants should always equal one, I haven't seen any reason why this would pose a practical problem.
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