Division of Signed Numbers
The rules for dividing signed numbers may be determined from the rules for multiplying signed numbers, which are listed below:
- Product will be positive if there is an even number of negative numbers
- Product will be negative if there is an odd number of negative numbers
From the above example, it becomes apparent that:
- Division of two numbers of different signs results in a negative number
- Division of two numbers of the same sign results in a positive number
For division of several signed numbers, it may be shown that:
- Quotient will be positive if there is an even number of negative numbers or zero negative numbers
- Quotient will be negative if there is an odd number of negative numbers
Examples:
