Negative Numbers

• Dividing Negative Exponents [Potts, 10/14/1998]
  Why does a negative exponent become positive when you divide by it?

• Exponents and Negative numbers [Crim, 03/02/1997]
  Why wouldn't the answer to -3 squared, standing alone and without parenthesis or brackets, be -9?

• Negative Bases [Wile, 06/10/1999]
  Are there such things as negative bases?

• Operating on Negative Numbers [Fiedler, 10/21/1996]
  I have lots of problems multiplying and dividing integers - the negative and positive numbers give me a really hard time.

• Prove That -(-a) = a [Eduardo, 09/11/2001]
  How do you prove that -(-a) = a using the properties of real numbers? What about -1 * -1 = 1?

• Squaring Negative Numbers [Thanh, 02/19/2002]
  Does -9^2 = 81 or -81?

• -6 times -6 [Trueblood, 11/3/1994]
  I really need to know what the answer to this problem is. -6 X -6

• Square root of a negative number [Pragin, 11/23/1994]
  Is it theoretically possible to calculate the square root of a negative number?

• Negatives [Chen, 1/10/1995]
  Can anyone explain why two negatives make a positive in sign multiplication?

• Product of Negative Numbers [Tapler, 02/04/1997]
  Can you give a proof of why the product of two negative numbers is positive?

• Why Does a Negative Times a Negative Equal a Positive? [Kaufmann, 03/01/1998]
  Using the distributive law to reason why a negative times a negative equals a positive.

• Inequalities and Negative Numbers [Rob, 03/09/1999]
  Why do we reverse the inequality symbol when dividing/multiplying by a negative number?

• Put the Variable in Parentheses [John, 10/15/2001]
  Squaring -4.

• Why Flip the Inequality Sign? [Sean, 10/26/2001]
  Please tell me why you flip the inequality sign when dividing by a negative number.

• Algebra Tiles and Negatives [David, 11/05/2001]
  Use a model (algebra tiles) to demonstrate that a negative times a negative = a positive.

• Negative Number History [Jam, 11/25/2001]
  What happened in the 16th century that caused people to need to use negative numbers, and what was their image of a negative number before that?

• Calculating Percent Change when the Base is a Negative Number [Cindy, 01/18/2002]
  In preparing financial statements, I must calculate the percent change of the net income between years...

• Can a Number to the Zero Power be -1? [Cheryl, 01/25/2002]
  My teacher told me that (-3^0) is equal to -1. Is this true?

• Avoiding Careless Mistakes [David, 01/30/2002]
  How can I avoid careless mistakes?