When taking the product of two or more quantities when one or more of them is negative, take the product as you ordinarily would as if the negative signs were not there. Count the number of negatives in the product. An even number of negative signs will yield a positive product and an odd number of negative signs will yield a negative product. Similarly, for a quotient (or fraction), two negatives yield a positive quotient and one negative and one positive yield a negative quotient.
Practice
Solutions
Negating a variable does not
automatically mean that the quantity will be negative: –x
means ‘‘the opposite’’ of x. We cannot conclude that –x is a negative number unless we have reason to believe x itself is a
positive number. If x is a negative number, –x is a positive number. (Although in practice we verbally say ‘‘negative x’’ for ‘‘–x’’ when we really mean ‘‘the opposite of x’’).
The same rules apply when multiplying
‘‘negative’’ variables.
Practice
Solutions
Because a negative divided by a
positive is negative and a positive divided by a negative is negative, a negative sign in a fraction
can go wherever you want to
put it.
Practice
Rewrite the fraction two different ways.
Solutions
Sumber
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