Multiplying & Dividing Rational Numbers
Decide the sign first — same signs give +, different signs give -; then multiply or divide the absolute values
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Decide the sign first — same signs give +, different signs give -; then multiply or divide the absolute values
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The trick for rational multiplication and division is "sign first, value second": step one, look at the signs of the two factors — same signs give positive, different signs give negative, so the sign of the result is settled; step two, multiply or divide the absolute values to get the number. Put together, no signed multiplication or division can go wrong.
Multiplying and dividing rational numbers takes two steps: first decide the sign — same signs give positive, different signs give negative; second compute the value — multiply or divide the absolute values. Judge the sign of a random expression first, then watch the absolute-value animation verify it, with negative numbers throughout.