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Study Guides > Prealgebra

Introduction to Properties of Identity, Inverses, and Zero

A man standing at a charcoal grill with several sausages on it, turning them with a pair of tongs How many hot dogs does Sam need to feed his guests?
Sam is having a barbecue with his family to celebrate the Fourth of July. He's grilling hamburgers for the adults and hot dogs for the children. He expects 14 adults and 8 children. After estimating that each child will eat one hot dog, how many hot dogs should Sam grill? To figure this out, Sam can use the identity property of multiplication. You'll learn about this property and a few others in this section.  

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this section, you will be able to:
  • Recognize the identity properties of addition and multiplication
  • Use the inverse properties of addition and multiplication
  • Use the properties of zero
  • Simplify expressions using the properties of identities, inverses, and zero
 

readiness quiz

Before you get started, take this readiness quiz.
  1. Find the opposite of [latex]-4[/latex].If you missed this problem, review [link].
  2. Find the reciprocal of [latex]\frac{5}{2}[/latex].If you missed this problem, review [link].
  3. Multiply: [latex]\frac{3a}{5}\cdot \frac{9}{2a}[/latex].If you missed this problem, review [link].
 

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