How to divide negative numbers - GRE Quantitative Reasoning
Card 0 of 5
Find the value of 
.
Find the value of
To solve for 
, divide each side of the equation by -2.
is the same as
which is POSITIVE 
To solve for
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What is 
?
What is
A negative number divided by a negative number always results in a positive number. 
divided by 
equals 
. Since the answer is positive, the answer cannot be 
or any other negative number.
A negative number divided by a negative number always results in a positive number.
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Solve for 
:
Solve for
Begin by isolating your variable.
Subtract 
from both sides:
, or 
Next, subtract 
from both sides:
, or 
Then, divide both sides by 
:
Recall that division of a negative by a negative gives you a positive, therefore:
or 
Begin by isolating your variable.
Subtract
Next, subtract
Then, divide both sides by
Recall that division of a negative by a negative gives you a positive, therefore:
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Solve for 
:
Solve for
To solve this equation, you need to isolate the variable on one side. We can accomplish this by dividing by 
on both sides:
Anytime you divide, if the signs are the same (i.e. two positive, or two negative), you'll get a positive result. If the signs are opposites (i.e. one positive, one negative) then you get a negative.
Both of the numbers here are negative, so we will have a positive result:
To solve this equation, you need to isolate the variable on one side. We can accomplish this by dividing by
Anytime you divide, if the signs are the same (i.e. two positive, or two negative), you'll get a positive result. If the signs are opposites (i.e. one positive, one negative) then you get a negative.
Both of the numbers here are negative, so we will have a positive result:
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Solve for 
:
Solve for
To solve, you need to isolate the variable. We first subtract 
then divide by 
:
When dividing, if the signs of the numbers are the same (i.e. both positive, or both negative), you yield a positive result. If the signs of the numbers are opposites (i.e. one of each), then you yield a negative result.
Therefore:
To solve, you need to isolate the variable. We first subtract
When dividing, if the signs of the numbers are the same (i.e. both positive, or both negative), you yield a positive result. If the signs of the numbers are opposites (i.e. one of each), then you yield a negative result.
Therefore:
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