Ohio Assessments for Educators (OAE) Mathematics Practice Exam

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When is a fraction considered undefined?

When the numerator is zero
When the denominator is zero
When both the numerator and denominator are zero
When the fraction is greater than one

The correct answer is: When the denominator is zero

A fraction is considered undefined specifically when the denominator is zero. This is because division by zero does not yield a meaningful result in mathematics. For example, if you have a fraction like 5/0, you cannot divide any number by zero, so it does not represent a specific value. In contrast, when the numerator is zero, such as in the fraction 0/5, the fraction equals zero, which is a defined and valid value. Similarly, a fraction like 0/0 is considered indeterminate rather than just undefined, as it can imply multiple situations in different contexts, but it is not the standard case of being undefined like the zero in the denominator. The size of a fraction, being greater than one, does not affect its defined status, so this does not make a fraction undefined either.