Compare the Difference Between Similar Terms

Difference Between

Home / Science & Nature / Science / Mathematics / Difference Between Inverse and Reciprocal

Difference Between Inverse and Reciprocal

July 11, 2011 Posted by Olivia

Inverse vs Reciprocal

The terms reciprocal and inverse are used mostly in mathematics, and have similar meanings. The multiplicative inverse or reciprocal of a number ‘a’ is denoted by 1/a, and is defined as a number that when multiplied by the number yields one (1). This means, that if we have a fraction x/y, its reciprocal or multiplicative inverse would be y/x. If you have a real number, just divide 1 by the number and you get its inverse or reciprocal number. Any two numbers having 1 as their product are said to be reciprocal numbers. However, despite such close relationship, there are differences between inverse and reciprocal that will be talked about in this article. In the case of a fraction, the task of finding its reciprocal becomes all the more easy as one just need to transpose the numerator and denominator.

The concept of reciprocal is very helpful as it simplifies many math problems and one can solve the sum mentally. Take a look at the following example.

8/(1/5 ) simply becomes 8 X 5 = 40; instead of dividing 8 by 1/5, we multiply 8 by the reciprocal of 1/5, which is 5

While it is true that there is very little to choose between multiplicative inverse and reciprocal of a number, there are also additive inverses that need to be added to the original number to get zero, and not one, which is the case in multiplicative inverse. So if the number is a, its additive inverse would be –a so that a+ (-a) = 0. Additive number is what you should add to it to get zero as the result.

In brief:

Difference Between Inverse and Reciprocal

• Inverse and reciprocal are similar concepts in mathematics that have similar meaning, and in general refer to the opposite of an identity

• Multiplicative inverse is identical to reciprocal as it needs to be multiplied with a number to get one as the result.

• However, there is also additive inverse that needs to be added to a number to get zero as the result.

Related posts:

Difference Between Irrational and Rational Numbers Difference Between Probability and Chance Difference Between Scale and Ruler Difference Between Mile and Kilometer (km)Difference Between Mile and Kilometer (km) Difference Between Sample and Population

Filed Under: Mathematics Tagged With: additive inverse, inverse, multiplicative inverse, reciprocal

About the Author: Olivia

Olivia is a Graduate in Electronic Engineering with HR, Training & Development background and has over 15 years of field experience.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Request Article

Featured Posts

Difference Between Coronavirus and Cold Symptoms

Difference Between Coronavirus and Cold Symptoms

Difference Between Coronavirus and SARS

Difference Between Coronavirus and SARS

Difference Between Coronavirus and Influenza

Difference Between Coronavirus and Influenza

Difference Between Coronavirus and Covid 19

Difference Between Coronavirus and Covid 19

You May Like

Difference Between Antiserum and Antibody

Difference Between Antiserum and Antibody

Difference Between Base Excision Repair and Nucleotide Excision Repair

Difference Between Base Excision Repair and Nucleotide Excision Repair

Difference Between Success and Failure

Difference Between Garmin 405 and 410

Difference Between Muons and Mesons

Difference Between Muons and Mesons

Latest Posts

  • What is the Difference Between Elementary and Complex Reaction
  • What is the Difference Between Ataxia and Apraxia
  • What is the Difference Between Chlorine Fluorine and Astatine
  • What is the Difference Between B Cell and T Cell Leukemia
  • What is the Difference Between Animal Pole and Vegetal Pole
  • What is the Difference Between Terminal and Bridging Carbonyls
  • Home
  • Vacancies
  • About
  • Request Article
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2010-2018 Difference Between. All rights reserved. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy: Legal.