Please help with this question

Question

-4/9 times (-5)

Answer 1

Doing math does not require you to be smart.  You just have to (1) know definitions, (2) follow procedures, and (3) stay humble (bragging about your skill in math can be really dumb).

 

(-4/9) * (-5)

 

A negative number times a negative number results in a positive number  (note: a rule]

Another rule:  To multiply fractions, multiply numerators and multiply denominators.

  Multiply the numerators [ (-4)*(-5) ] to get +20.

  Multiply the denominators [ (9)*1 ] to get 9. 

   20/9

Reduce the fraction if possible.  This one doesn't reduce.

 

This fraction is an "improper fraction" since the numerator is larger than the denominator.  It may be changed to a "mixed number" by dividing and keeping the remainder as a fraction:

    20/9  =  2 2/9

Answer 2

Remember that -5 can also be written as -5/1.  So:

 

(-4/9)*(-5/1) = (-4)*(-5)/(9*1) = 20/9 = 2 ²/₉