Party in

Math-land (an integer story)

Have you ever been to a party like this?

Everyone is happy and having a good time.

They are all Positive!

Suddenly, who should appear?

The Grouch!

(one negative)

The grouch goes around complaining to everyone about the food, the music, the room temperature, the other people…

What happens to the party?

Everyone feels less happy!

Everyone becomes negative!

My party is ruined!

But wait! Another guest is arriving…

The new guest is another grouch. The two negative together… people get They start complaining to each other about how miserable they are…

And look! They are starting to smile and have a good time…

Pairs of negatives become positive!

The party is saved!

Now that the two grouches are together the rest of the people (who were really positive all along) become happy once again.

The moral of the story… When multiplying and dividing integers, one negative make all positives negative, but two negatives become positive!

Therefore, the following rules apply:

+ · + = + + · - = - · + = - · - = +

Now, let’s practice!