Solve: Finding the Sign of -4/(-0.4) ÷ -1.7 in Mathematics

Question

Will the exercise result in a negative or a positive sign:

40.4:1.7 -\frac{4}{-0.4}:-1.7

Video Solution

Solution Steps

00:00 Find the result sign
00:03 Let's find what sign each number has
00:20 Positive divided by negative is always negative
00:27 Negative multiplied by negative is always positive
00:33 Positive divided by negative is always negative
00:36 And this is the solution to the question

Step-by-Step Solution

We are only concentrating on whether the number is negative or positive.

In other words, the exercise should look like this:

×+:= -\times\frac{+}{-}:-=

If we solve the exercise from left to right, we must first multiply the fraction:

×+= -\times\frac{+}{-}=

Since the numerator of the fraction is positive and divides by the negative denominator, the resulting fraction will be negative.

Therefore the remaining exercise is as follows:

×:= -\times-:-=

If we then multiply minus by minus, we should obtain a positive number:

×=+ -\times-=+

The resulting exercise is:

+:= +:-=-

Therefore, the resulting sign of the exercise will be negative.

Answer

-