Dividing by 0

GRE Quant Problem Solving
1

Before anyone freaks out! I am aware that dividing by 0 is not allowed. However, I’m getting some mixed signals from official GRE prep and GregMat about the validity of 0/0.

  • I recall solving some PrepSwift problem sets wherein 0/0 = 0 and was valid when considering QC questions.
  • In a recent mock quiz, the square root of a/b was compared to the square root of a / square root of b. I tested for when a and b are both 0 since I thought 0/0 = 0 was valid, and picked C as a consequence, but apparently this wasn’t the correct approach.

Which is it? Please don’t attack me for dividing by 0, I got a degree in mathematics and it was common practice for 0/0 to be equivalent to 0.

2

Yeah well you’re likely confusing 0|0 with \frac{0}{0}. Division by 0 is never defined so \frac{0}{0} \neq 0, but 0 | 0 reads as “0 divides 0” and this is a true statement cuz 0 = 0 * 0.