Part A: What is a reciprocal and when is it used to divide?
Part B: Provide an example of a division problem where a reciprocal is used.
Part C: Solve the division problem from Part B. Show all work.
Part A: A reciprocal is the multiplicative inverse of a number. In simpler terms, it is the number that, when multiplied by the original number, equals 1. Reciprocals are used in division to simplify the process. Instead of dividing by a number, we can multiply by its reciprocal to achieve the same result.
Part B: Let's take the division problem 6 ÷ 2 as an example where a reciprocal is used.
Part C: To solve the division problem 6 ÷ 2 using a reciprocal, we need to find the reciprocal of 2 and then multiply it by 6.
Step 1: Find the reciprocal of 2
The reciprocal of 2 is 1/2 or 0.5. It is obtained by flipping the numerator and the denominator of the fraction, so 2 becomes 1/2.
Step 2: Multiply the reciprocal by 6
Now, we can multiply the reciprocal, 1/2, by 6:
1/2 × 6 = 6/2 = 3
Therefore, 6 ÷ 2 = 3.