what is the product of 5/6 x -8/15 in lowest terms?

Answer 1

To multiply 5 * -8 , you could multiply the numerators and then denominators and simplify your final

6 15

answer. However, yo can also divide common factors between the numerators and denominators before you multiply so that simplifying is not necessary.

You can divide 5 and 15 by 5 first:

5 * -8 = 1 * -8

6 15 6 3

Then you can divide 8 and 6 by 2 before you multiply:

1 * -8 = 1 * -4

6 3 3 3

Now multiply the numerators and the denominators:

1 * -4 = -4

3 3 9

Therefore -4 is your solution in lowest terms.

9

Answer 2

When multiplying fractions, there is no need to find a common denominator. You can simply multiply the numerators together and the denominators together to give you an unreduced answer. Then you just reduce it by finding the largest number that goes into the numerator AND the denominator and factoring it out.

5/6 * -8/15 = (5*-8)/(6*15) = -40/90 = -4/9