What is “one over something”?












1












$begingroup$


In my physics class when the tutor talks a value of something, they say that will be "one over something", I'm not sure what this is and I cannot ask because it seems like everyone else knows what he is talking about. I think he's talking about a reciprocal, but I'm not sure why a reciprocal is used.






terminology definition mathematics







share|cite|improve this question









New contributor




Jay is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.







$endgroup$








  • 4




    $begingroup$
    Welcome to physics.SE. Yes, it sounds like a reciprocal, but we can't tell why a reciprocal is used in a particular situation without knowing what the physical situation is that is being discussed. Please edit your question to make it more clear what you're asking about.
    $endgroup$
    – Ben Crowell
    5 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    hi Jay. That does seems like a reciprocal, but I would highly suggest you ask the tutor. They will be delighted that someone is paying attention and wants to learn more, believe me
    $endgroup$
    – aaaaaa
    49 mins ago
















1












$begingroup$


In my physics class when the tutor talks a value of something, they say that will be "one over something", I'm not sure what this is and I cannot ask because it seems like everyone else knows what he is talking about. I think he's talking about a reciprocal, but I'm not sure why a reciprocal is used.






terminology definition mathematics







share|cite|improve this question









New contributor




Jay is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.







$endgroup$








  • 4




    $begingroup$
    Welcome to physics.SE. Yes, it sounds like a reciprocal, but we can't tell why a reciprocal is used in a particular situation without knowing what the physical situation is that is being discussed. Please edit your question to make it more clear what you're asking about.
    $endgroup$
    – Ben Crowell
    5 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    hi Jay. That does seems like a reciprocal, but I would highly suggest you ask the tutor. They will be delighted that someone is paying attention and wants to learn more, believe me
    $endgroup$
    – aaaaaa
    49 mins ago














1












1








1





$begingroup$


In my physics class when the tutor talks a value of something, they say that will be "one over something", I'm not sure what this is and I cannot ask because it seems like everyone else knows what he is talking about. I think he's talking about a reciprocal, but I'm not sure why a reciprocal is used.






terminology definition mathematics







share|cite|improve this question









New contributor




Jay is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.







$endgroup$




In my physics class when the tutor talks a value of something, they say that will be "one over something", I'm not sure what this is and I cannot ask because it seems like everyone else knows what he is talking about. I think he's talking about a reciprocal, but I'm not sure why a reciprocal is used.






terminology definition mathematics




terminology definition mathematics






share|cite|improve this question









New contributor




Jay is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.











share|cite|improve this question









New contributor




Jay is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









share|cite|improve this question




share|cite|improve this question








edited 27 mins ago









Qmechanic♦

103k121851177




103k121851177






New contributor




Jay is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









asked 6 hours ago









JayJay

91




91




New contributor




Jay is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.





New contributor





Jay is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.






Jay is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.








  • 4




    $begingroup$
    Welcome to physics.SE. Yes, it sounds like a reciprocal, but we can't tell why a reciprocal is used in a particular situation without knowing what the physical situation is that is being discussed. Please edit your question to make it more clear what you're asking about.
    $endgroup$
    – Ben Crowell
    5 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    hi Jay. That does seems like a reciprocal, but I would highly suggest you ask the tutor. They will be delighted that someone is paying attention and wants to learn more, believe me
    $endgroup$
    – aaaaaa
    49 mins ago














  • 4




    $begingroup$
    Welcome to physics.SE. Yes, it sounds like a reciprocal, but we can't tell why a reciprocal is used in a particular situation without knowing what the physical situation is that is being discussed. Please edit your question to make it more clear what you're asking about.
    $endgroup$
    – Ben Crowell
    5 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    hi Jay. That does seems like a reciprocal, but I would highly suggest you ask the tutor. They will be delighted that someone is paying attention and wants to learn more, believe me
    $endgroup$
    – aaaaaa
    49 mins ago








4




4




$begingroup$
Welcome to physics.SE. Yes, it sounds like a reciprocal, but we can't tell why a reciprocal is used in a particular situation without knowing what the physical situation is that is being discussed. Please edit your question to make it more clear what you're asking about.
$endgroup$
– Ben Crowell
5 hours ago




$begingroup$
Welcome to physics.SE. Yes, it sounds like a reciprocal, but we can't tell why a reciprocal is used in a particular situation without knowing what the physical situation is that is being discussed. Please edit your question to make it more clear what you're asking about.
$endgroup$
– Ben Crowell
5 hours ago












$begingroup$
hi Jay. That does seems like a reciprocal, but I would highly suggest you ask the tutor. They will be delighted that someone is paying attention and wants to learn more, believe me
$endgroup$
– aaaaaa
49 mins ago




$begingroup$
hi Jay. That does seems like a reciprocal, but I would highly suggest you ask the tutor. They will be delighted that someone is paying attention and wants to learn more, believe me
$endgroup$
– aaaaaa
49 mins ago










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















6












$begingroup$


I cannot ask because it seems like everyone else knows what he is
talking about. I think he's talking about a reciprocal




It may be true that everyone else knows what your tutor is talking about. But it could be true that most are thinking like you and so won't ask either.



Try asking this: "To be sure, when you say one over something, you are referring to a reciprocal, correct?"



I recall an anecdote from a professor for a junior level EE class I took long ago. He said that he had once taught a class on EE fundamentals to non EE majors. About halfway through the quarter, someone in the class finally had the courage to ask "but what is $j$?" I'm sure almost everyone else in the class was relieved that someone finally asked that question.




From the comments:




This is an interesting anecdote but it doesn't actually appear to
answer the question. Would you consider editing to fix that?




I thought it was clear enough but, given DavidZ's prodding, I'll explicitly state here that I agree with the OP's belief that the tutor is referring to a reciprocal. On the other hand, only the OP's tutor can actually answer the OP's question.






share|cite|improve this answer











$endgroup$













  • $begingroup$
    $j$ is $i$, so they should have been confused.
    $endgroup$
    – JEB
    4 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    This is an interesting anecdote but it doesn't actually appear to answer the question. Would you consider editing to fix that?
    $endgroup$
    – David Z♦
    3 hours ago



















2












$begingroup$

“One over $r$” is spoken English for the mathematical expression $1/r$, and similarly for “one over” anything else. More generally “$a$ over $b$“ means $a/b$.



You will learn a lot more more if you are not embarrassed to ask about things you don’t understand. If you don’t want to ask in front of the whole class, ask the teacher after the class. Or ask this site.






share|cite|improve this answer











$endgroup$













    Your Answer





    StackExchange.ifUsing("editor", function () {
    return StackExchange.using("mathjaxEditing", function () {
    StackExchange.MarkdownEditor.creationCallbacks.add(function (editor, postfix) {
    StackExchange.mathjaxEditing.prepareWmdForMathJax(editor, postfix, [["$", "$"], ["\\(","\\)"]]);
    });
    });
    }, "mathjax-editing");

    StackExchange.ready(function() {
    var channelOptions = {
    tags: "".split(" "),
    id: "151"
    };
    initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

    StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
    // Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
    if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
    StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
    createEditor();
    });
    }
    else {
    createEditor();
    }
    });

    function createEditor() {
    StackExchange.prepareEditor({
    heartbeatType: 'answer',
    autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
    convertImagesToLinks: false,
    noModals: true,
    showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
    reputationToPostImages: null,
    bindNavPrevention: true,
    postfix: "",
    imageUploader: {
    brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
    contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
    allowUrls: true
    },
    noCode: true, onDemand: true,
    discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
    ,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
    });


    }
    });






    Jay is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.










    draft saved

    draft discarded


















    StackExchange.ready(
    function () {
    StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fphysics.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f456496%2fwhat-is-one-over-something%23new-answer', 'question_page');
    }
    );

    Post as a guest















    Required, but never shown

























    2 Answers
    2






    active

    oldest

    votes








    2 Answers
    2






    active

    oldest

    votes









    active

    oldest

    votes






    active

    oldest

    votes









    6












    $begingroup$


    I cannot ask because it seems like everyone else knows what he is
    talking about. I think he's talking about a reciprocal




    It may be true that everyone else knows what your tutor is talking about. But it could be true that most are thinking like you and so won't ask either.



    Try asking this: "To be sure, when you say one over something, you are referring to a reciprocal, correct?"



    I recall an anecdote from a professor for a junior level EE class I took long ago. He said that he had once taught a class on EE fundamentals to non EE majors. About halfway through the quarter, someone in the class finally had the courage to ask "but what is $j$?" I'm sure almost everyone else in the class was relieved that someone finally asked that question.




    From the comments:




    This is an interesting anecdote but it doesn't actually appear to
    answer the question. Would you consider editing to fix that?




    I thought it was clear enough but, given DavidZ's prodding, I'll explicitly state here that I agree with the OP's belief that the tutor is referring to a reciprocal. On the other hand, only the OP's tutor can actually answer the OP's question.






    share|cite|improve this answer











    $endgroup$













    • $begingroup$
      $j$ is $i$, so they should have been confused.
      $endgroup$
      – JEB
      4 hours ago










    • $begingroup$
      This is an interesting anecdote but it doesn't actually appear to answer the question. Would you consider editing to fix that?
      $endgroup$
      – David Z♦
      3 hours ago
















    6












    $begingroup$


    I cannot ask because it seems like everyone else knows what he is
    talking about. I think he's talking about a reciprocal




    It may be true that everyone else knows what your tutor is talking about. But it could be true that most are thinking like you and so won't ask either.



    Try asking this: "To be sure, when you say one over something, you are referring to a reciprocal, correct?"



    I recall an anecdote from a professor for a junior level EE class I took long ago. He said that he had once taught a class on EE fundamentals to non EE majors. About halfway through the quarter, someone in the class finally had the courage to ask "but what is $j$?" I'm sure almost everyone else in the class was relieved that someone finally asked that question.




    From the comments:




    This is an interesting anecdote but it doesn't actually appear to
    answer the question. Would you consider editing to fix that?




    I thought it was clear enough but, given DavidZ's prodding, I'll explicitly state here that I agree with the OP's belief that the tutor is referring to a reciprocal. On the other hand, only the OP's tutor can actually answer the OP's question.






    share|cite|improve this answer











    $endgroup$













    • $begingroup$
      $j$ is $i$, so they should have been confused.
      $endgroup$
      – JEB
      4 hours ago










    • $begingroup$
      This is an interesting anecdote but it doesn't actually appear to answer the question. Would you consider editing to fix that?
      $endgroup$
      – David Z♦
      3 hours ago














    6












    6








    6





    $begingroup$


    I cannot ask because it seems like everyone else knows what he is
    talking about. I think he's talking about a reciprocal




    It may be true that everyone else knows what your tutor is talking about. But it could be true that most are thinking like you and so won't ask either.



    Try asking this: "To be sure, when you say one over something, you are referring to a reciprocal, correct?"



    I recall an anecdote from a professor for a junior level EE class I took long ago. He said that he had once taught a class on EE fundamentals to non EE majors. About halfway through the quarter, someone in the class finally had the courage to ask "but what is $j$?" I'm sure almost everyone else in the class was relieved that someone finally asked that question.




    From the comments:




    This is an interesting anecdote but it doesn't actually appear to
    answer the question. Would you consider editing to fix that?




    I thought it was clear enough but, given DavidZ's prodding, I'll explicitly state here that I agree with the OP's belief that the tutor is referring to a reciprocal. On the other hand, only the OP's tutor can actually answer the OP's question.






    share|cite|improve this answer











    $endgroup$




    I cannot ask because it seems like everyone else knows what he is
    talking about. I think he's talking about a reciprocal




    It may be true that everyone else knows what your tutor is talking about. But it could be true that most are thinking like you and so won't ask either.



    Try asking this: "To be sure, when you say one over something, you are referring to a reciprocal, correct?"



    I recall an anecdote from a professor for a junior level EE class I took long ago. He said that he had once taught a class on EE fundamentals to non EE majors. About halfway through the quarter, someone in the class finally had the courage to ask "but what is $j$?" I'm sure almost everyone else in the class was relieved that someone finally asked that question.




    From the comments:




    This is an interesting anecdote but it doesn't actually appear to
    answer the question. Would you consider editing to fix that?




    I thought it was clear enough but, given DavidZ's prodding, I'll explicitly state here that I agree with the OP's belief that the tutor is referring to a reciprocal. On the other hand, only the OP's tutor can actually answer the OP's question.







    share|cite|improve this answer














    share|cite|improve this answer



    share|cite|improve this answer








    edited 1 hour ago

























    answered 5 hours ago









    Alfred CentauriAlfred Centauri

    48.2k350150




    48.2k350150












    • $begingroup$
      $j$ is $i$, so they should have been confused.
      $endgroup$
      – JEB
      4 hours ago










    • $begingroup$
      This is an interesting anecdote but it doesn't actually appear to answer the question. Would you consider editing to fix that?
      $endgroup$
      – David Z♦
      3 hours ago


















    • $begingroup$
      $j$ is $i$, so they should have been confused.
      $endgroup$
      – JEB
      4 hours ago










    • $begingroup$
      This is an interesting anecdote but it doesn't actually appear to answer the question. Would you consider editing to fix that?
      $endgroup$
      – David Z♦
      3 hours ago
















    $begingroup$
    $j$ is $i$, so they should have been confused.
    $endgroup$
    – JEB
    4 hours ago




    $begingroup$
    $j$ is $i$, so they should have been confused.
    $endgroup$
    – JEB
    4 hours ago












    $begingroup$
    This is an interesting anecdote but it doesn't actually appear to answer the question. Would you consider editing to fix that?
    $endgroup$
    – David Z♦
    3 hours ago




    $begingroup$
    This is an interesting anecdote but it doesn't actually appear to answer the question. Would you consider editing to fix that?
    $endgroup$
    – David Z♦
    3 hours ago











    2












    $begingroup$

    “One over $r$” is spoken English for the mathematical expression $1/r$, and similarly for “one over” anything else. More generally “$a$ over $b$“ means $a/b$.



    You will learn a lot more more if you are not embarrassed to ask about things you don’t understand. If you don’t want to ask in front of the whole class, ask the teacher after the class. Or ask this site.






    share|cite|improve this answer











    $endgroup$


















      2












      $begingroup$

      “One over $r$” is spoken English for the mathematical expression $1/r$, and similarly for “one over” anything else. More generally “$a$ over $b$“ means $a/b$.



      You will learn a lot more more if you are not embarrassed to ask about things you don’t understand. If you don’t want to ask in front of the whole class, ask the teacher after the class. Or ask this site.






      share|cite|improve this answer











      $endgroup$
















        2












        2








        2





        $begingroup$

        “One over $r$” is spoken English for the mathematical expression $1/r$, and similarly for “one over” anything else. More generally “$a$ over $b$“ means $a/b$.



        You will learn a lot more more if you are not embarrassed to ask about things you don’t understand. If you don’t want to ask in front of the whole class, ask the teacher after the class. Or ask this site.






        share|cite|improve this answer











        $endgroup$



        “One over $r$” is spoken English for the mathematical expression $1/r$, and similarly for “one over” anything else. More generally “$a$ over $b$“ means $a/b$.



        You will learn a lot more more if you are not embarrassed to ask about things you don’t understand. If you don’t want to ask in front of the whole class, ask the teacher after the class. Or ask this site.







        share|cite|improve this answer














        share|cite|improve this answer



        share|cite|improve this answer








        edited 4 hours ago

























        answered 4 hours ago









        G. SmithG. Smith

        6,0181021




        6,0181021






















            Jay is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.










            draft saved

            draft discarded


















            Jay is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.













            Jay is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.












            Jay is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
















            Thanks for contributing an answer to Physics Stack Exchange!


            • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

            But avoid …



            • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

            • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


            Use MathJax to format equations. MathJax reference.


            To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




            draft saved


            draft discarded














            StackExchange.ready(
            function () {
            StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fphysics.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f456496%2fwhat-is-one-over-something%23new-answer', 'question_page');
            }
            );

            Post as a guest















            Required, but never shown





















































            Required, but never shown














            Required, but never shown












            Required, but never shown







            Required, but never shown

































            Required, but never shown














            Required, but never shown












            Required, but never shown







            Required, but never shown







            -

            Popular posts from this blog

            What other Star Trek series did the main TNG cast show up in?

            Image
            .everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty{ margin-bottom:0; } 4 I'm referring to Picard, Riker, Data, Worf, Geordi, Dr. Crusher, Wesley Crusher, Chief O'Brien and family, Deanna Troi, Guinan. I know Picard and Worf show up on DS9, though I haven't seen it myself. I'm curious what happened to the characters after that last episode of TNG? star-trek star-trek-tng share | improve this question edited 10 hours ago Ham Sandwich 6,051 2 25 75 ...
            Read more

            Berlina muro

            Image
            La berlina muro ĉe Bethaniendamm, 1986 La berlina muro aŭ simple la muro [1] , nomita ankaŭ "kontraŭfaŝisma remparo" en propaganda lingvo de la iama Germana Demokratia Respubliko, estis parto de la interngermana limo, kiu dividis de la 13-a de aŭgusto 1961 ĝis la 9-a de novembro 1989 okcidentan Berlinon de la orienta parto de la urbo kaj de la ĉirkaŭa tereno de la GDR. Ĝi estis unu el la plej famaj simboloj de la malvarma milito kaj de la disdivido de Germanio. Pli ol simpla muro, la berlina muro estis fakte tuta defendokonstruaĵo kun du muroj, ena malplena strio, rondirvojo, gardturoj kaj alarmsistemoj. Dum la provo transiri la severe garditan limon al okcidenta Berlino multaj homoj estis mortigitaj. La preciza nombro de viktimoj estas pridisputita kaj ne certa; la nombroj anoncataj varias inter 86 kaj 238 mortintoj. La malplifortiĝo de Sovetunio kaj la politiko de liberigo gvidita de Miĥail Gorbaĉov ebligis al la orientgermanoj faligi la 9-an de novembro 1989 l...
            Read more

            Berlina aerponto

            Image
            Flugkoridoroj dum la blokado de Berlino La Berlina aerponto estas la provizigo de okcidenta Berlino per aviadiloj fare de la aliancanoj inter la 23-a de junio 1948 kaj la 12-a de majo 1949 dum la blokado de Berlino fare de la sovetia armeo. Enhavo 1 Historio 1.1 La aerkoridoroj 1.2 Unuaj flugoj 1.3 Plibonigo de la aerponto 1.4 Fino de la aerponto 1.5 Rozinbombiloj 1.6 Bilanco 2 Flughavenoj 2.1 Berlino 2.2 Okcidenta Germanio 3 Aviadiloj de la berlina aerponto 4 15-a datreveno de la aerponto 5 Bibliografio 6 Referencoj 7 Eksteraj ligiloj Historio | General Lucius D. Clay, militguberniestro de la usona okupadzono Jam antaŭ la berlina aerponto estiĝis la malgranda aerponto . La estro de la sovetia militadministracio en Germanio, Vasili Daniloviĉ Sokolovski, ordonis la 1-an de aprilo 1948, kiel reago al la konferenco de Londono inter britoj, francoj kaj reprezentantoj de Benelukso pri aligo de Germa...
            Read more