Imagine a shelf. On that shelf, put 3 cards: one that says 1. One that says 2. And one that says 3. Put them on the shelf in some order (e.g. 2,1,3). How many orderings are possible? 3! = 6, right? Exactly. That’s how many different ways my shelf could look different. Now imagine we had 1 card instead of 3. How many ways can the shelf look? It’ll look like this: ____ [ 1 ] ____ with just the one card with a 1 on it. That’s the only possibility for the shelf. 1 factorial is 1. Now imagine we, in fact, have 0 cards. What’s 0 factorial? How many different ways can the shelf look? Only one: ________. There is one way to order zero objects. The way that produces an empty shelf. Answer from R0KK3R on reddit.com
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ThoughtCo
thoughtco.com › why-does-zero-factorial-equal-one-3126598
Why Does Zero Factorial Equal One?
May 18, 2024 - The first reason why zero factorial is equal to one is that the definition of the factorial states that 0! = 1. A definition is a mathematically correct explanation (even if a somewhat unsatisfying one).
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/math › why the factorial of 0 is always 1?
r/math on Reddit: Why the factorial of 0 is always 1?
January 16, 2022 - So here’s the situation, if we define it some other way, it breaks our whole operator, if we don’t define it we can’t use it, but if we do define it to be 0!=1, it doesn’t break anything, because multiplying by 1 maintains the same number.
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The Math Doctors
themathdoctors.org › zero-factorial-why-does-0-1
Zero Factorial: Why Does 0! = 1 ? – The Math Doctors
Similarly, you cannot reason out 0! just in terms of the meaning of factorial because you cannot multiply all the numbers from zero down to 1 to get 1. Mathematicians *define* x^0 = 1 in order to make the laws of exponents work even when the exponents can no longer be thought of as repeated multiplication.
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/explainlikeimfive › eli5: why is 0!=1?
r/explainlikeimfive on Reddit: ELI5: why is 0!=1?
July 27, 2023 - If you define n! to be the product of all integers j in the range 1 ≤ j ≤ n, there are no integers j that fit 1 ≤ j ≤ 0, so 0! must be the product of the empty set. 1 makes the most sense for the product of the empty set because 1 multiplied ...
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YouTube
youtube.com › eddie woo
Why is 0! = 1? - YouTube
Main site: http://www.misterwootube.com Second channel (for teachers): http://www.youtube.com/misterwootube2 Connect with me on Twitter (http://twitter.com/m...
Published   April 30, 2014
Views   9M
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ChiliMath
chilimath.com › home › lessons › intermediate algebra › zero factorial
Zero Factorial | ChiliMath
July 20, 2024 - For the equation to be true, we must force the value of zero factorial to equal 1, and no other. Otherwise, 1!≠1 which is a contradiction. So yes, 0!
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TikTok
tiktok.com › mr trivedi does maths (@mrtrivedidoesmaths) | tiktok › why is 0! equal to 1? let me explain #factorials #factorial #maths
Why is 0! Equal to 1? Let me explain #factorials #factorial #maths | TikTok
17.2K Likes, 184 Comments. TikTok video from Mr Trivedi Does Maths (@mrtrivedidoesmaths): “Why is 0! Equal to 1? Let me explain #factorials #factorial #maths”. 0! = 10!=1???original sound - Mr Trivedi Does Maths.
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Quora
quora.com › Is-0-1-How-is-that-possible
Is 0=1? How is that possible? - Quora
Answer (1 of 5): Answered without watching the video How is it possible that 0 = 1 ? 0! is indeed equal to 1! * There is one way to rearrange the empty set, the set of zero items * * { } * 0! = 1 * There is one way to rearrange a set containing one item * * 1! = 1 * You will learn ...
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Quora
quora.com › Why-is-0-factorial-equal-to-1-Is-there-any-pure-basic-mathematical-proof-mathematics-physics
Why is 0 factorial equal to 1? Is there any pure basic mathematical proof (mathematics, physics)? - Quora
Answer (1 of 7): The simple answer is as follows. n!=(n-1)!n or, turning this round, (n-1)! = n!/n Now put n=1. You get 0!=1!/1 = 1 There is another demonstration, involving integration which involves more advanced maths. I'm not going into it here. Hope this helps.
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Medium
omerseyfeddinkoc.medium.com › why-is-0-1-a-surprisingly-logical-fact-of-mathematics-216b74046d70
Why Is 0! = 1? A Surprisingly Logical Fact of Mathematics | by Omer Seyfeddin Koc | Medium
July 20, 2025 - It might sound strange, but this “empty arrangement” is still considered a valid arrangement. In combinatorics, an empty set has exactly one subset: itself, and there’s exactly one way to arrange nothing. So, we define 0! = 1 to reflect that.
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Physics Forums
physicsforums.com › mathematics › general math
Can 0=1? The Math Behind the Assumption • Physics Forums
November 30, 2004 - It depends on how "factorial" is defined. If n! is defined as the product of all natural numbers less than or equal to n, for natural n, then 0! = 1 would just be conventional (0 isn't even natural). On the other hand, if you want to define n!
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Physics Forums
physicsforums.com › mathematics › general math
Is the equation 0!=1 based on flawed reasoning? • Physics Forums
April 16, 2022 - I'm going to have a function ##F(n)## defined on the non-negative integers such that ##F(n) = nF(n-1)## for ##n \ge 1##. You can't prove ##F(0) =1## because I can choose any value I like for ##F(0)##. There is a whole family of such functions depending on the choice for ##F(0)##. What we can do is take the case where ##F(0) = 1## and call that function the factorial. ... I figure that 0!
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Quora
quora.com › Why-does-zero-factorial-0-equal-one-1-1
Why does zero factorial (0!) equal one (1)? - Quora
Answer (1 of 553): Mathematically, n! = n * (n-1) * (n-2) * . . . . . . * 3 * 2 * 1 Dividing by n both sides, n! / n = (n-1) * (n-2) * . . . . . . * 3 * 2 * 1 n! / n = (n-1)! Hence, we have concluded that, (n-1)! = n! / n Now putting n = 1 in the above derived equation, (1 - 1)! = 1! / 1 ...
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Quora
quora.com › What-is-the-practical-explanation-of-0-1
What is the practical explanation of 0! =1? - Quora
Answer (1 of 25): One of the most beautiful things in mathematics is that definitions and mathematical ideas can often be expanded to incorporate broader ideas. The ancient Greeks liked whole numbers and fractions. But when it came (essentially) to solving x^2=2, they found that the \sqrt{2} cou...
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Hint: In mathematics, zero factorial is the expression that means to arrange the data containing no values. The value of n! is given by $n!=n\\times \\left( n-1 \\right)\\times \\left( n-2 \\right)\\times \\ldots \\ldots \\ldots \\times 1$ . The given equation can also be written as $n!=n\\times \\left( n-1 \\right)!$ . we need to substitute n=1 to get the value of 0!Complete step by step answer:Factorial of a number in mathematics is the product of all the positive numbers less than or equal to a number. The multiplication happens to a given number down to the number one or till the number one is reached.Example: Factorial of n is n! and the value of n! is $n!=n\\times \\left( n-1 \\right)\\times \\left( n-2 \\right)\\times \\ldots \\ldots \\ldots \\times 1$Definition 1:In mathematics, zero factorial is the expression that means to arrange the data containing no values. Factorial is used to define possible data sets in a sequence also known as permutation. Order is important in the case of permutations. As per the same, if there are no values like in an empty or zero set there is still a single arrangement possible.As there is no data to arrange, the value becomes eventually equal to one.Definition 2:Combinations usually are the number of ways the objects can be selected without replacement.Order is not usually a constraint in combinations, unlike permutations.Factorial of a number in mathematics is the product of all the positive numbers less than or equal to a number. But there are no positive values less than zero so the data set cannot be arranged which counts as the possible combination of how data can be arranged (it cannot).Thus, 0! = 1.Definition 3:Factorial of a number in mathematics is the product of all the positive numbers less than or equal to a number. Example: Factorial of n is n! and the value of n! is $n!=n\\times \\left( n-1 \\right)\\times \\left( n-2 \\right)\\times \\ldots \\ldots \\ldots \\times 1$The value of n! from the above can be also written as $n\\times \\left( n-1 \\right)!$$\\Rightarrow n!=n\\times \\left( n-1 \\right)!$Considering the value of n equal to 1,$\\Rightarrow 1!=1!\\times \\left( 1-1 \\right)!$$\\Rightarrow 1!=1!\\times \\left( 0 \\right)!$The value of LHS should be equal to RHS as 1! is always equal to 1!For the above condition to be true, The value of 0! must be equal to 1.The value of 0! =1.Note: The factorial of a number is denoted by an exclamation mark. Factorial of a number only deals with natural numbers so zero is omitted. The multiplication of any factorial takes place down to 1 and not zero. Factorials are usually used in the context of solving permutations and combinations.
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/learnmath › why do we say 1/0=undefined instead of 1/0=infinity?
r/learnmath on Reddit: Why do we say 1/0=undefined instead of 1/0=infinity?
October 24, 2020 -

Like 10/2- imagine a 10 square foot box, saying 10 divided by 2 is like saying “how many 2 square foot boxes fit in this 10 square foot box?” So the answer is 5.

But if you take the same box and ask “how many boxes that are infinitely small, or zero feet squared, can fit in the same box the answer would be infinity not “undefined”. So 10/0=infinity.

I understand why 2/0 can’t be 0 not only because that doesn’t make and since but also because it could cause terrible contradictions like 1=2 and such.

Ah math is so cool. I love infinity so if anyone wants to talk about it drop a comment.

Edit: thanks everyone so much for the answers. Keep leaving comments though because I’m really enjoying seeing it explained in different ways. Also it doesn’t seem like anyone else has ever been confused by this judging by the comment but if anyone is I really liked this video https://www.khanacademy.org/math/algebra/x2f8bb11595b61c86:foundation-algebra/x2f8bb11595b61c86:division-zero/v/why-dividing-by-zero-is-undefined