reciprocal

The reciprocal is the multiplicative inverse of any number, except zero. (Zero does not have a reciprocal.)

To find the reciprocal of a number, we divide 1 by the number like this:

    \frac{\textmd{1}}{\textmd{the number}}

For example:

    The reciprocal of 3 is \frac{1}{3}.

If we multiply a number by the reciprocal of that number, we get 1.

For example, 3 × \frac{1}{3} = 1.