The trouble with zero

Maybe you, like me, have always had it instilled in you that you do not divide by zero or nasty things may happen? Some confusion still surrounds the number zero, particularly in using it in division.

You might never have questioned why you cannot divide by zero, or been asked to explain why it’s a mortal sin. Why would you? It’s fairly obvious, but the fairly obvious is always difficult to explain. How can we explain this concept to children in a method that is easily grasped and learnt? The purpose of this short article is to demonstrate a few pedagogy methods to show children the trouble that zero can cause. Some concepts appear trivial at first glance, but look closer and one begins to think deeply about some of our long held truths about zero.