Question

How do you do this math problem

Answer 1

Answer:

$\frac{2}{1}*\frac{1}{2}=\frac{2*1}{1*2}=\frac{2}{2}=1$

The benefit of the multiplicative inverse property is when you are dealing with fractional coefficients, you can use the property to solve for the variable.

Step-by-step explanation:

The multiplicative inverse property allows us to take the reciprocal (opposite) of a number and multiply it by the original value to obtain the number '1'.  We know that they are equivalent because when we multiply fractions, we multiply the numerators and denominators straight across:

$\frac{2}{1}*\frac{1}{2}=\frac{2*1}{1*2}=\frac{2}{2}=1$

The benefit of this property is in getting rid of fractions in an equation.  For example, take the following equation:

4 = $\frac{1}{2}x$

I can solve for 'x' by using the multiplicative inverse property and multiplying both sides of the equation by $\frac{2}{1}$:

$\frac{2}{1}*4=(\frac{2}{1})\frac{1}{2}x$ or 8 = x