Math: what do we call the number a and 1/a? I think they are reverse.
English: what the difference between "converse", "inverse" and "reverse"?
2006-07-06 15:40:08 · 8 answers · asked by yukiphong2006 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Mathematics
The Reciprocal of a is 1/a.
Converse - To communicate; It can also mean the Opposite.
Inverse - Opposite, Contrary.
Reverse - Turn around or to undo an action.
2006-07-06 16:27:08 · answer #1 · answered by ideaquest 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a and 1/a are "reciprocals" or "multiplicative inverses" of each other. Meaning, if you multiply these two numbers, you will get 1 which is the multiplicative identity. Be careful, though, coz it doesn't work for all numbers. Zero does not have a reciprocal.
Let me give you examples on "converse", "inverse" and "reverse"...
Statement: If I get good grades, then I will be happy.
Converse: If I am happy, then I got good grades. (You just reverse the premise and the conclusion. So I guess this is also what is meant by the "reverse" of a statement. The converse of a true statement is not always true, since there might be other reasons for you to be happy and not just because you got good grades.)
Inverse: If I am not happy, then I did not get good grades. (You negate both the premise and the conclusion. Again, the inverse of a true statement is not always true since there may be other reasons for your not being happy aside from not getting good grades.)
2006-07-06 16:00:52 · answer #2 · answered by early_sol 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
1/a is the inverse of a...
Converse is like "the opposite"... I guess you would call the converse of "a" something like "-a"
Inverse means "inverted"... in math, this means "flipping" a fraction. Since a = a/1 the inverse of a = 1/a. Similarly, 2/3 is the inverse of 3/2 (etc...)
Reverse means "other direction" - there really isn't a good mathematical description unless you start talking about vectors. An example might be something like... "Travel to the East for x miles, reverse your direction and travel 2x miles... how far and in what direction do you need to travel to get back to where you started? Answer = East for x miles)...
2006-07-06 15:47:59 · answer #3 · answered by bdyscr33t 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a and 1/a are inverses of eachother. Inverse is a math term.
Convers is an english term for "oppositely"
Reverse can apply to direction or also can be used like converse in some instances.
Inverse is the only math term though
2006-07-06 15:47:10 · answer #4 · answered by darcy_t2e 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
inverse of A is A^ (-1)
2006-07-06 15:49:14 · answer #5 · answered by Mr.answers 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are referred to as the multiplicative inverse of each other
2006-07-06 15:59:42 · answer #6 · answered by Walt C 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a and 1/a are reciprocals or "multiplicative inverses"
"reciprocal" is more commonly used.
2006-07-06 15:46:34 · answer #7 · answered by Master B 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
reciprocal
2006-07-06 15:54:38 · answer #8 · answered by Joseph G 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋