[GYPSY286]

Math was not my strong point. Got into an argument in 3rd or 4th grade with my teacher about multiplication. She always used apples and oranges when explaining math. She told me that multiplying any number by zero is and always will be zero. I asked her if I had an apple in my hand and she multiplied it by 0, would it not be 1 since I still held the apple?

[wastedyears]

Good example

[Famishus]

I asked her if I had an apple in my hand and she multiplied it by 0, would it not be 1 since I still held the apple?

I used a similar argument for division. Zero means 'nothing', so if you divide by nothing, no division has taken place, leaving you with the original number. :)

[Stone Mountain]

I asked her if I had an apple in my hand and she multiplied it by 0, would it not be 1 since I still held the apple?

I would say no. Multiplying by zero would be the equivalent of losing the apple. If you multiply by two, you have two apples. If you multiply by zero, you have zero apples.