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What is 0^0? - Introduction

Author(s): 
Michael Huber and V. Frederick Rickey

 

When calculus books state that 00 is an indeterminate form, they mean that there are functions f(x) and g(x) such that f(x) approaches 0 and g(x) approaches 0 as x approaches 0, and that one must evaluate the limit of [f(x)]g(x) as x approaches 0. But what if 0 is just a number? Then, we argue, the value is perfectly well-defined, contrary to what many texts say. In fact, 00 = 1!

 

Editor's note: This article was published in March of 2008.

Michael Huber and V. Frederick Rickey, "What is 0^0? - Introduction," Convergence (July 2012)