Reciprocal
What is a Reciprocal?
A reciprocal is what you get when you flip a number or fraction upside down.
For a whole number, put 1 over it.
For a fraction, swap the top and bottom numbers.
The reciprocal of a number multiplied by the number itself is always 1.
Examples:
Example 1: What is the reciprocal of 10?
Step 1: Turn 10 into a fraction:10 = 10/1
Step 2: Flip it upside down:1/10 is the reciprocal of 10
✔️ Answer: 1/10
Example 2: What is the reciprocal of -2/5?
Step 1: Flip the fraction:-2/5 becomes -5/2
Step 2: Keep the minus sign with the number.
✔️ Answer: -5/2
🎯 Top Tips:
🌟 Whole numbers? Just put 1 over the number to get the reciprocal.
➤ Example: Reciprocal of 4 is 1/4.
🌟 Zero has no reciprocal!
➤ You can’t divide by 0, so zero doesn’t have a reciprocal.
🌟 Flip fractions, not signs!
➤ Just flip the numbers. If it ’s negative, keep the minus sign.
🌟 Check by multiplying!
➤ A number × its reciprocal = 1 Example: 10 × 1/10 = 1