Notes from the marking center (1 Viewer)

[Sober]

Read the notes from the marking center for 4 unit maths in 1998, question 6, part (b) (ii). Or for those who do not have it off hand:

(i) (1 mark)
The number of marks earned by candidates in this part was usually equal to the value used for 0! in their calculation.

Is that not the saddest thing you have ever read?

 

[fishy89sg]

LOL that is hilarious

 

[Raginsheep]

Read the notes from the marking center for 4 unit maths in 1998, question 6, part (b) (ii). Or for those who do not have it off hand:



Is that not the saddest thing you have ever read?

Its only sad that 4u students don't know that 0! = 1

 

[zeek]

but i do...

 

[Rax]

LOLOLOL

That is definately the funniest thing I have ever seen

Must e-mail to all the people in my maths class, even the Ext I people will get it lol.

 

[~shinigami~]

This is gonna sound really stupid but why does 0! = 1 ?

Note: I know that it's true that 0! = 1, I just wanted to know why?

Sorry for the dumb question, it's kinda like how I know anything to the power of 0 equals one but I still don't know why.

 

[zeek]

I think its because there is only one way to arrange 0 things and that is you can't arrange them... if that makes sense :0

 

[Sober]

Using n! = n(n-1)! and letting n=1:

1 = 1x0!

therefore: 0! = 1, however it stops there because when n=0:

0! = 0x(-1)!

(-1)! = 1/0 = undefined

===========================

For n⁰ equalling 1, consider this:

n⁰ = n^a-a = n^a/n^a = 1

Therfore n⁰ = 1

===========================

Factorial has actually been extended to include the complete complex plane (except negative integers), see wikipedia's entry on Gamma Function for more about it.

 

[Riviet]

Read the notes from the marking center for 4 unit maths in 1998, question 6, part (b) (ii). Or for those who do not have it off hand:

Is that not the saddest thing you have ever read?

It's slightly sad but mathematicians should find some form of humour in reading that.

 

[c0okies]

It's slightly sad but mathematicians should find some form of humour in reading that.

agreed

 

[Raginsheep]

Hey.....I just realised that the questions implicitly talks about the poisson distribution.....thats sorta kool.......