Flashcard 5 - Numbers and Operations Flashcard Set for the Math Basics

No, but they are multiplicative inverses.

Two numbers are additive inverses if they add together to create the additive identity (0). For example, 3 and -3 are additive inverses because \(3+(-3)=0\).

In general, a and -a are additive inverses.

\(\frac{3}{4}\) and \(\frac{4}{3}\) are not additive inverses because \(\frac{3}{4} + \frac{4}{3}= \frac{25}{12} \ne 0\)

Two numbers are multiplicative inverses if they multiply together to create the multiplicative identity (1).

\(\frac{3}{4}\) and \(\frac{4}{3}\) are multiplicative inverses because \(\frac{3}{4} \cdot \frac{4}{3} =\frac{12}{12}= 1\)

In general, \(a\) and \(\frac{1}{a}\) are multiplicative inverses, as are \(\frac{a}{b}\) and \(\frac{b}{a}\)