Level 5-6 Numbers - Negatives - Multiplication and Division

Multiplication and division are not everybody's favourite parts of KS3 Maths. The same goes for negative numbers. So how hard is it going to be to mix the two? Actually, multiplying and dividing negative numbers is really quite straight forward - as long as you remember the rules.

It's a common saying that two negatives make a positive. What's more - it's true. Multiplying and dividing negative numbers is just the same as normal multiplication and division, with just one exception. All you need to remember is that two like signs (both + or -) give a positive result, whereas two unlike signs (one + and the other -) give a negative result. So, to give you an idea of how that looks, let's deal with a simple example involving 8 and 2: