In mathematics, what is the inverse of the number 4?

The inverse of a number, specifically in the context of multiplication, refers to the value that, when multiplied by the original number, yields a product of one. For the number 4, this means finding a number that satisfies the equation 4 × x = 1.

To find this, we can rearrange the equation as follows: x = 1/4. When we calculate 1 divided by 4, the result is 0.25. Thus, 0.25 is the multiplicative inverse of 4 because:

4 × 0.25 = 1

This demonstrates that 0.25, or one-fourth, effectively reverses the operation of multiplication with the number 4 back to one, fulfilling the definition of an inverse in this mathematical context.