Question

If both sides of an inequality are multiplied or divided by the same negative number, the direction of the inequality symbol is

Answer 1

Answer: reversed.

Explanation:

1. By definition, when you multiply or divide both sides of an inequality by the same negative number, then the direction of the inequality symbol must be reversed.

2. To understand this better, let's write the inequality shown below:

`4>2`

The symbol > means "greater than".

If you multiply both sides of the inequality by -1, you obtain:

`(-1)4>2(-1)`

`-4>-2` (This is false, because -4 is not greater than -2)

But, if the symbol is reversed, then:

`-4<-2` (This is true because -4 is less than -2)

The symbol < means "less than".