The following rules for working with negative numbers are important to remember.

When multiplying and dividing negative numbers, if the signs are the same the result will be a positive number; if the signs are different the result will be a negative number. You can see how to use these rules in the following Worked Examples.

Worked Examples

1

(a)

6 × (−4) = −24

(b)

−6 × (−7) = 42

(c)

42 ÷ (−2) = −21

(d)

−33 ÷ (−11) = 3

2

(a)

−6 + 7 = 1

(b)

−6 − 8 = −14

(c)

−6 − (−4) = −6 + 4 = −2

(d)

−7 + (−3) = −7 − 3 = −10

Exercises