Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Why do you get a possitive number when you multiply by two negative numbers?

Let's say you're multiplying -2 by -5. Let's look at this as an addition problem: what is -2 one time? Well, -2. What is -2 two times? Well, -2 + -2 = -4. How about -2 N times? It'll be -2n.





Now - how much is -2 zero times? Zero of course. Now how about -2 negative one time?!? That will be 0 minus -2, or 2. How about -2 negative two times? that's 2 minus -2, or 4. And -2 negative five times would be 0 - -2 - -2 - -2 - -2 - -2 = 10.Why do you get a possitive number when you multiply by two negative numbers?
Debt is a good example of a negative number. One common form of debt is a mortgage in which you owe the bank money because the bank paid for your house. It is also common for an employer to deduct a mortgage payment from an employee's paycheck to help the employee keep on schedule with the payments.





Suppose $700 is being deducted each month to pay the mortgage. After six months, how much money has been taken out of the pay for the mortgage? We can figure out the answer by doing multiplication.





6 * -$700 = -$4,200





This is an illustration of a positive times a negative resulting in a negative.





Now suppose that, as a bonus, the employer decides to pay the mortgage for one year. The employer removes the mortgage deduction from the monthly paychecks. How much money is gained by the employee in our example? We can represent ';removes'; by a negative number and figure out the answer by multiplying.





-12 * -$700 = $8,400





This is an illustration of a negative times a negative resulting in a positive.





If one thinks of multiplication as grouping, then we have made a positive group by taking away a negative number twelve times.Why do you get a possitive number when you multiply by two negative numbers?
because for some reason, a minus overpowers a plus, so when you do the sum, you get a positive (coz you swap the minus sign for positive and do the sum like tht.). i think, something along those lines....





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Let's say you multiply -3 x -4. That's the same as multiplying 3 x 4 x -1 x -1.





3 x 4 = 12.


12 x -1 = -12.


And, -12 x -1 = 12.
because two negative cancel out eachother,which makes a positive number
its impossible, th only way is to multiply 0 by any negative number, but that gives you a non-negative answer.
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