Friday, August 16, 2002

Proof that 2=1

x=y
x^2=xy (multiply both sides by x)
x^2 - y^2=xy - y^2 (subtract y^2 from both sides)
(x + y)(x - y)=y(x - y) (factored)
x + y=y (divide both sides by (x - y))
y + y=y (equation 1. says x = y)
2y=y
2=1

Why is this? (Highlight below for answer)

Because x = y, x - y = 0. Therefore, when we divide both sides of the equation by x - y, we are dividing by zero and math does what it's not supposed to b/c we did what we weren't supposed to.

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