Question

Reasoning Explain why either a or b must be 0 if ab = 0, but neither a nor b

must be 4 when ab = 4.

Answer 1

By the zero product property, a or b must be 0 if ab = 0. Or you could solve for each variable.

Divide both sides by b:
b=0/a —> b=0

Divide both sides by b:
a=0/b —> a=0

Hmm A could be 4 and b could be 1 because 4*1=4