Question

Multiply. -8. -9/3 . 2/-5Write your answer in simplest form.

Answer 1

$(-8)\cdot(-\frac{9}{3})\cdot(-\frac{2}{5})$

To multiply these numbers, the first step is to writhe "-8" as an improper fraction, to do so, divide it by 1

$(-\frac{8}{1})\cdot(-\frac{9}{3})\cdot(-\frac{2}{5})$

Next is to solve the multiplication, to do so, first multiply the first two terms of the multiplication:

$(-\frac{8}{1})\cdot(-\frac{9}{3})$

The multiplication is between two negative numbers, when you multiply two negative numbers, the minus signs cancel each other and turn into a positive value, this is called "double-negative"

$(-\frac{8}{1})\cdot(-\frac{9}{3})=\frac{8\cdot9}{1\cdot3}=\frac{72}{3}$

Next multiply the result by the third fraction -2/5

This time you are multiplying a positive and a negative number, so the result of the calculation will be negative

$\frac{72}{3}\cdot(-\frac{2}{5})=-\frac{72\cdot2}{3\cdot5}=-\frac{144}{15}$

Final step is to simplify the result, both 144 and 15 are divisible by 3, so divide the numerator and denominator by 3 to simplify the result to the simplest form:

$-\frac{144\div3}{15\div3}=-\frac{48}{5}$