What is the negative reciprocal of 2?
Understand the Problem
The question is asking for the negative reciprocal of the number 2. The negative reciprocal of a number is obtained by taking the reciprocal (1 divided by the number) and then changing its sign. In this case, the reciprocal of 2 is 1/2, and the negative reciprocal is -1/2.
Answer
$-\frac{1}{2}$
Answer for screen readers
The negative reciprocal of the number 2 is $-\frac{1}{2}$.
Steps to Solve
- Find the reciprocal of the number 2
To find the reciprocal of a number, you divide 1 by that number. For the number 2, the reciprocal is:
$$ \text{Reciprocal of } 2 = \frac{1}{2} $$
- Change the sign to find the negative reciprocal
The negative reciprocal is obtained by changing the sign of the reciprocal. Therefore, the negative reciprocal of the number 2 is:
$$ \text{Negative reciprocal of } 2 = -\frac{1}{2} $$
The negative reciprocal of the number 2 is $-\frac{1}{2}$.
More Information
The concept of negative reciprocals is often used in mathematics to determine slopes of perpendicular lines. If one line has a slope of $m$, the slope of a line perpendicular to it is $-\frac{1}{m}$. In this case, $m=2$, so the perpendicular slope is $-\frac{1}{2}$.
Tips
One common mistake is forgetting to change the sign after finding the reciprocal. It's essential to remember that the negative reciprocal is not just the reciprocal, but also changes the sign.
