What is the product of a rational number and its multiplicative inverse?
GeneralClass 12AllAnswered 27 Mar 2026
Answer
The product is always one (1).
Formula: (p/q) × (q/p) = 1 (where p ≠ 0)
Examples:
- 3/4 × 4/3 = 12/12 = 1
- 7/5 × 5/7 = 35/35 = 1
- (-2/9) × (-9/2) = 18/18 = 1
Explanation: This is the defining property of multiplicative inverse (reciprocal). The reciprocal is specifically the number that, when multiplied by the original, gives one.
Note: Zero has no multiplicative inverse because we cannot divide by zero.
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