Question

State a conclusion if a•b = 0 then a = 0 or b = 0. a) If a•b = 0, then a must be 0. b) If a•b = 0, then b must be 0. c) Both a and b must be 0 if a•b = 0. d) There is no conclusion to be drawn.

Answer 1

The correct conclusion from the given question is

c) Both a and b must be 0 if a•b = 0.

How to state the conclusion

When there is a multiplication equation of the form a•b = 0, where a and b are numbers, there are a few possible scenarios:

If either a or b is zero: If either a or b is already zero, then the equation holds true because anything multiplied by zero is zero.

If both a and b are zero: In this case, the equation holds true since zero multiplied by zero is also zero.

If neither a nor b is zero: If both a and b are nonzero, then their product would not be zero. In this scenario, the equation a•b = 0 cannot be satisfied.

Therefore, the conclusion that both a and b must be 0 if a•b = 0 is accurate. It covers the cases where either a or b is zero, as well as the case where both a and b are zero.