Why do you use the reciprocal when dividing fractions?

Think of it like this....

If we are dividing fractions and we set those fractions up in a fraction such as,

2/3

___

3/4

then how would we get rid of the bottom fraction? We would multiply it by the reciprocal 4/3, so that it's now equal to one, and then because we multiplied the bottom by 4/3, we must also multiply the top by 4/3. So now we have...

2/3 * 4/3

_______

3/4 * 4/3

= 8/9

___

1

= 8/9

That's why we multiply by the reciprocal of a fraction when dividing!

E2020 people this should be in your notes?

The reciprocal is one of two numbers whose product is 1; it is also called multiplicative inverse.